Love Me, Sensei
by Eclipsing
Summary: Someone new moved into Rukia's neighborhood and she absolutely despised him since he started calling her a midget the first day they met. But it was unexpected when she saw him at school, but he's not a student...then that means! ICHIXRUKI Rated M
1. 01 Hello Stranger!

**Author's Note: MUHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!! *laughing in hysteria***

**Hello my readers (old and new!) This is Eclipsing again with another ICHIXRUKI Fanfic!!!! and to be honest I don't know what got me to write a new story. For those of you who've read my other stories before might recall how I'm always complaining about being so busy with college and work that I can never keep my promises of fast updates. But for some reason I just HAD to write this story. It's very humor-oriented and a lot of romance (and possibly smut) will be involved very soon. I'm just glad I can upload this before Valentine's Day!!!!  
**

**The first chapter is short because I didn't want to give away too much in the beginning. But I'm almost finished editing the second chapter and the third chapter is almost done so hopefully I can update those quickly to catch your interest. Just read this short chapter and expect longer ones.**

**Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach until Kubo agrees to marry me....

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Chapter 1: Hello Stranger!

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Rukia let out a loud yawn as she came closer to her apartment. It's been a long day at school and nothing sounded better then a nice _long_ nap. It was the weekend which means she didn't have to do her homework until the day before it was due.

She hummed a small tune as she lightly skipped down the street. Before turning the corner which leads to her apartment, Rukia stopped in front of the small shop that she goes to almost daily. She saw the owner fanning himself in front of his store while his two young, part-time workers were sweeping the dusty ground.

The shopkeeper looked up and waved. "Konnichiwa Kuchiki-san! Here to buy more snacks?"

Rukia approached the shop and nodded. "I'm here for the weekly 'charge-up.'"

The red-haired worker snorted.

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Jinta?"

The boy just crossed his arms and smirked. "I just wanted to let you know that if you keep eating like that, it won't be long before you get fat—augh!" he grunted in pain when a fan suddenly hit him straight in the face, knocking him down on the ground.

Urarhara looked at his unconscious worker before looking down at his hand where his fan was just mere seconds ago. He looked back up to see Rukia still in her throwing-position. He quickly pulled out another fan from his sleeve and started fanning himself. "My oh my, someone sure is feisty today."

Rukia snorted as she returned to her original task: getting food. She walked into the shop, followed closely by Urahara so he could ring up the price for everything she was buying. The petite girl went through each aisle in the small shop, stopping once in awhile to put something into her little basket.

Eyeing the young girl, Urahara smirked. "Kuchiki-san. Did you know someone just moved into our little neighborhood this morning?"

Rukia continued her shopping, not at all interested in what he was saying. "So?"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that he moved into the small apartment building in front of yours. Maybe you should go by and say 'hello.'"

Rukia snorted. "And why should I do that?" Before Urahara could respond, she held out her basket to him. "Ring it up," she ordered. Urahara looked down and chuckled. The basket was filled with chips, drinks, sweets, etc. and most of them were labeled with Chappy the Bunny. After punching in some numbers Urahara announced the price with a smile. "That will be 1500 yen." (A/N: Which is equivalent to around $15).

Rukia pulled out a couple of bills from her wallet and slammed it on the counter before grabbing the plastic bag of treats and exiting the store.

"Don't forget to welcome our new neighbor!" Urahara called out before Rukia slid the door shut.

Rukia pulled out a pack of pocky from her bag and placed one stick in her mouth. _Why is Urahara so persistent that I go visit this person? It's not like I'm the landlord or something._ Rukia grunted in annoyance. "I shouldn't be bothered by it."

She turned the corner and was nearing her apartment. Swinging her school bag and the plastic bag in one hand and holding a pocky stick in other hand, Rukia closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warm sun playing on her face. Today was a beautiful spring day, and summer was just around the corner. She felt like going to the park and—

"Hey! Watch out!"

Rukia came back to reality just in time to step back before a large, heavy box landed on the spot she was just at a second ago. She tripped over a stone and landed on her ass, dropping her bags and the pocky that was in her mouth. "Ow," she groaned as she rubbed her sore bottom. A shadow suddenly loomed over her, blocking the warm sun above her, causing her to look up.

"Sorry about that. You okay there kid?" the shadow asked. The man was standing inside a moving truck and wiping a sweat off his brow. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a simple white wife-beater that fitted his muscular chest tightly, with a towel wrapped around his hair tied in the back, and a pair of work gloves. The man looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oi, kid. I asked if you're okay."

It took Rukia another second before she could react. "What the fuck?!" she cursed at him as she jumped to her feet. "You could've killed me you bastard!"

The man jumped off the truck and placed his hands on his hip. "Well, I did tell you to 'watch out.' Besides, it's your fault for spacing out."

Rukia walked up to the man, but had to tip toe in order to get closer to his face since he was about a head taller than her. "You shouldn't have thrown that damn box in the first place!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well if you haven't noticed, I'm trying to move into this apartment before night falls so I'm in a hurry. Besides," he placed a hand on top of her head and ruffled her dark hair. "It's hard to see you when you're so short, midget."

Rukia felt a vein pulsing against her forehead. She took a step back before she sent her leg flying.

To where you ask?

"SON OF A BITCH!" he screamed.

To the bastard's shin that's where.

He hopped around on one leg while the other was being held up with his hands. "What the fuck was that for, midget?!"

Hearing the same cursed word again Rukia pushed him off balance, sending him flying onto the ground. "That's what you get for calling me a 'midget' jackass!" she huffed before grabbing her stuff off the ground and stomping away.

The man continued nursing his bruising shin as he watched her walk away. "This is some fucked up place," he cursed.

"You're a dumbass that's all," Ishida Uryuu walked over and extended a hand.

Kurosaki Ichigo cursed before accepting his friend's help. "Shut up Ishida. I don't need you making fun of me every second of the day."

Uryuu smirked before he grabbed another box out of the truck. "Let's just hurry up. I have papers to grade."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Ichigo pulled the towel off his head, revealing a shocking color of orange hair. He walked over and picked up the box he thrown at the midget when he suddenly noticed a small Chappy the Bunny charm next to it. He placed the box down before picking it up by the string. _It must have fallen off her cellphone or something,_ he thought to himself.

It was a simple charm of Chappy (which he knows thanks to his sister Yuzu) with a laminated rectangular paper hanging under it vertically. Looking carefully he read _Rukia_ written on it in katakana.

"Kurosaki! Hurry up!" Uryuu shouted back at him.

"Alright already!" Ichigo shoved the charm into his pocket before he grabbed the box again and followed his friend to his new apartment.

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A/N: So how was it? If there's spelling or grammatical mistakes, forgive me. English isn't exactly my first language... I was raised learning a different language even though I live in the states. And I edit my own stuff so there mostly likely will be mistakes (since I do a sloppy job in editing).

I PROMISE (for real this time) that the third chapter will start off the interesting situation I described in the summary. Hopefully I can upload chapter 2 and 3 together so you guys don't have to wait.

Anyways, please click on the button below and REVIEW!!! (though flames do hurt me so please be gentle...) Ja ne!


	2. 02 Not You Again

**Author's Note: Hey, I'm actually keeping my promise and updating early!!!...I wonder how long this will last...**

**Anyways, THANK YOU for all the reviews! I do like reading how you guys are interested in this story. This second chapter doesn't have enough to really start off the story but it gets better by the next chapter which I hope to upload by tomorrow or the day after. I'm almost done with it.**

**Ichigo and Rukia meets again here but I do recommend you read the end-note at the bottom of this page to clear up a confusion that might arise for some of you guys. Just read and enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

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Chapter 2: Not You Again

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A sigh came from Rukia as she walked towards Urahara's store. It was Sunday, which meant "homework day;" which in turn means "more-sweets-needed" day. She slid the front door open and stomped inside. "Urahara! I'm here for the usual!"

Ururu, a young, sad looking girl jumped up and bowed. "Welcome back. I'll go grab your favorites."

"Thank you, Ururu," Rukia smiled as the young part-time worker went around the store to gather up all the goods. She walked up towards the counter, pulling out her wallet from her pocket, when she suddenly noticed something orange from her peripheral vision. Rukia looked up only to see the back of a person with a shocking color of orange on top of his head. Before she could even process everything into her head, Ururu came back with a full basket.

"Here's everything!" She smiled as she held up the basket.

Rukia smiled back. "Arigatou."

Upon hearing a very familiar voice, Ichigo turned around, only to see the same girl he saw the day before (*A/N). He smirked when she turned around and placed her basket of treats on the counter. "Sugar isn't exactly going to help you with your height, midget."

A vein quickly appeared on Rukia's forehead upon hearing his mocking voice. With the most evil glare she could muster, Rukia turned her head to the side and directed it to the owner of the voice. "What are you doing here?" she growled through her clenched teeth.

An orange brow went up. "You're not exactly appealing with that look. Besides, since when was there a store where only a midget can go and not a fully grown person?"

Rukia bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from screaming at him. "Can't you think of something else besides calling me a midget, sherbet?"

"Sherbet?" Ichigo asked. Rukia nodded her head upwards. Getting the message, Ichigo smirked before running his hand through his hair. "Well, that was a pretty creative nickname. Made that up all by yourself?" he teased.

Rukia opened her mouth to fight back when Urahara suddenly popped in front of them. "Ara, although I do love watching young lovers flirt, please remember that you're in the vicinity of young children."

Both parties stopped their verbal war to glare at the shopkeeper. "WE ARE NOT FLIRTING!" They both shouted at the same time.

Urahara just smiled and sarcastically responded, "Mmhm, and I'm only wearing this hat to hide my bald spot."

Ichigo leaned forward to look at the older man more carefully. "Aren't you?"

Urahara gasped. "I can't believe you would even think that, Kurosaki-kun! This hat is the latest trend for people my age!"

"This is just great," Rukia rolled her eyes, "I'm surrounded by the town's idiots."

"Watch who you're calling an 'idiot'. I'm a lot smarter than I look," Ichigo glared at her.

"A-ha!" Rukia smiled triumphantly. "So you do admit you look stupid?"

A small twitched formed by Ichigo's left eye. "I'm really close to throwing you across the store, shorty."

Rukia glared back as she leaned closer to him. "Oh yeah?! I bet I can beat you up without dropping a sweat."

Ichigo leaned forward as well. "I'd like to see you try, chibi!"

"Stop calling me that before I kick you in the balls!" Rukia snarled.

Urahara fanned himself while wearing a mischievous grin. "Ara. Youths these days have the oddest way of showing their affection. And they're even willing to kiss in public—augh." His words cut short when two angry fists simultaneously landed on his face and knocked him out. And again, the two slammed several yens on the counter at the same time before stomping out of the shop with their respective bags in their hands.

The two turned into the sidewalk, leaving the store and its perverted owner. It wasn't until they both turned a corner that they realized they were still in each other's presence.

"Will you stop following me, sherbet?" Rukia growled.

Ichigo snorted in annoyance. "In case you've forgotten, I live around here. Besides, why would anyone follow a midget like you?"

Feeling stem blowing out of her ear, Rukia turned around, ready to give him a verbal lashing, when he interrupted her by sticking out his hand.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. What's yours?" he asked.

Rukia looked back and forth between his face and his hand. "What's with the sudden formalities?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Well, I just thought it'd be nice to know my neighbors. And seeing how we met both days since I moved here, I have a feeling we might meet more often. Call it 'fate' if you will."

"How stupid are you?" She suddenly asked.

"Not so much that I'd leave a person hanging for so long," he replied, nodding his head towards his outstretched hand.

Rukia snorted before grabbing his hand, hard, and shaking it, hard. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia. It is NOT a pleasure meeting you."

Ichigo bit his lower lip to stop himself from making any sound. _How can such a small person have such a strong grip?!_ "Well, Rukia, the feeling is mutual." He finally yanked his hand out and walked on ahead, shoving his injured hand into his pocket. The two continued their silent walk, Ichigo ahead of Rukia.

She was looking at the back of his orange head, thinking of other ways of making fun of him, while he was too busy trying to remember why her name sounded familiar. It wasn't until his apartment came into view that it struck him

_The charm!_ "Oi, Rukia—" Ichigo turned around only to see no midget behind him.

"Yeah?" she called out from the side.

Ichigo turned to his right to see Rukia, frozen in midstep, facing a parking lot in front of an apartment. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"Home," she replied.

Ichigo looked at her, the apartment and back at her before shouting, "You live here?!"

"Why else would I be going here?" she snapped back, her hands at her hips.

Ichigo scratched his head. "I just didn't think you lived _this _close to me."

Rukia sighed before asking, "What do you want?"

"What—oh yeah! Um, yesterday I found this Chappy cellphone charm with your name—"

"You have it?!" Rukia suddenly appeared right in front of Ichigo with wide, sparkling eyes.

Ichigo couldn't help but take a step back, feeling rather insecure with such eyes staring at him. "Y-yeah, well it was on the ground and so I picked it up. It's back at my apartment so if you want it back you can come back with me and I can give it to you."

At those words Rukia stepped back and looked away, uncertainty in her eyes. "I don't know…"

Understanding what she was thinking, Ichigo snorted. "Please, like there's any chance I'd jump a midget like you."

Rukia glared before stomping on his foot. "Who would be afraid of an idiot like you?" She turned around and headed towards his apartment, "Let's go, carrot top."

Ichigo cursed as he limped after her, trying to keep his weight off his bruising foot.

They approached his apartment but once they reached the side of the building where the stairs were located at, Rukia stopped and turned around. Ichigo halted to a stop, almost running over the smaller person.

"Why the hell did you suddenly stop?"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Duh. I don't know where your apartment is."

"Oh, right." Ichigo quickly walked past her, avoiding whatever look she was throwing his way. They made up to the second floor and stopped when they reached the end of the hallway. "Now, don't mess anything up when you come in here," he teased while inserting the key and opening the door.

Rukia snorted. "Che, like it wouldn't be a pigsty already—"

Have you ever eaten your own words?

Well Rukia did the very moment the door opened, showing a very clean and organized apartment.

Seeing her shocked expression, Ichigo smirked. "Come in," he said, leading the way with his hand.

Rukia took one step inside and entered the genkan. Without even realizing what she was doing, Rukia slipped out of her shoes and stepped into the apartment to get a better look at the place.

It was a total bachelor pad. It was a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, a large living room and kitchen. It was well furnished; the living room had a wide screen TV against one wall and on the opposite side was a large, leather black couch with a single-sitter companion to one side. They surrounded a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. The kitchen was full of stainless equipment, immediately bringing a question to Rukia's mind: can he cook?

Rukia aimlessly walked around the apartment. He just moved in here and this place already looked really good! Not to mention the fact it was cleaner than her apartment.

After a few steps, Rukia stopped when she came across the wall that hung several pictures. She stopped upon seeing a picture of a family. There was a father who was smiling like an idiot while holding up two young girls. And a young mother, smiling, with her arms around a young boy with orange hair. "Is this your family?" she asked, pointing to the biggest photo on the wall.

Ichigo walked over and stood behind her. "Yeah, that's my family."

Rukia smiled. "How old were you when you took this picture?"

"I think I was around eight or so." He then pointed to the two younger girls. "These are my sisters, Yuzu and Karin. They're fraternal twins. And that's my crazy old man."

Rukia chuckled while still looking at the picture. She then noticed he hadn't said anything about the woman in the picture. "You're mother is very beautiful," she said.

Ichigo was silent before letting out a breath. "Thanks."

"I'm guessing you got that crazy hair of yours from her," she teased.

Ichigo smirked. "Thanks for noticing it's real. Others keep bothering me thinking it's bleached or something."

Rukia was about to comment when suddenly her phone started ringing. "Moshi-moshi?"

Ichigo watched from behind at the sudden transformation on her face as she talked to whoever was on the other line.

"Okay…yes, I know. I just forgot for a bit—well sorry for being human!…What does that mean?! FINE! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Rukia shut her phone while glaring at it. When she heard small snickers from the side, she directed her glare to the owner of it. "Shut up."

Ichigo raised up both hands in defeat. "Sorry. Anyways, what was that all about?"

Rukia sighed. "My friends are waiting for me. I totally forgot I had plans with them." She walked over to the door and slipped on her shoes. "See 'ya later, strawberry!" She shouted before quickly running out of the house.

"Don't call me that, midget!" He shouted after her before the door closed. Ichigo rolled his eyes and walked towards his kitchen when he suddenly remembered why Rukia was here in the first place. "Shit. I forgot to give her back that stupid bunny." Ichigo went to his room and opened the drawer where the Chappy cellphone charm was placed on top of his papers. He smirked before closing the drawer and walking away. "Hopefully fate will let us meet again, midget."

* * *

A/N: So I finally introduced Urahara here but I'm not sure just how big of a role I'll give him yet. Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW which will make me write faster!

Next chapter: Rukia and Ichigo meets for the third time...in the most unlikely place!!

* For those who are confused about why these two met again on a Sunday when the day before Rukia was coming back from school when they first met, this is why:

In Japan, students do go to school on Saturdays, although it is a half-day. And depending on which highschool you're going to, sometimes it switches on and off between weeks on when you have to go to school and when you don't have to (which would be the case in this story), while other schools have the last Saturday off. There are more versions, but it would take too long to write them all down so this is just a brief explanation. Check online if you want to find out more!


	3. 03 Sensei!

**Author's Note: Looks like I got this up in time again! I'm actually keeping my promise so I'm happy...though I don't know when I'm going to upload the next chapter. I'm almost done with it, but I have midterms right now so I'm a bit busy. No promises, but I'm going to give myself a deadline sometime this weekend.**

**Anyways, this is the moment you guys have all been waiting for!!! School starts again and Rukia meets Ichigo. Again, sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. I tried to find them but I was kinda rushed so I might not have gotten every one of them.  
**

**PS. THANKS for the REVIEWS! Those made my day :)  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

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Chapter 3: Sensei?!

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Classroom 3-2…

"OHAYO KUCHIKI-SAN-AUGH!"

…It was loud as any other day.

Rukia took a step to her left just in time to avoid the human-missile attack, which ended up smashing into the classroom door behind her instead. "Ohayo, Asano-kun," she greeted Asano Keigo with a fake smile.

Keigo jumped up and saluted, completely ignoring the stream of blood falling down his forehead. "As expected of the lovely student representative; you are always quick on your feet. My love for you only grows stronger by the day. Kuchiki-san!" he squealed as he tried to hug her again but ended up kissing the ground when Rukia swung her bag and knocked him down on ground.

Rukia smiled at his twitching form as she made her way to her seat.

"Geez Rukia, I don't know how you can stand him jumping at you like that day after day," Arisawa Tatsuki said, "Why don't you just get rid of him once and for all?"

"I could," Rukia tapped her chin with her finger as if thinking before ginning up at her friend, "But it's kind of stress-relieving to see guys like him getting hurt like that once in awhile."

"You're amazing, Kuchiki-san," Mizurio Kojima chuckled, "You sure know how to play with a man's heart."

"Aw, you're so cute, Rukia!" Matsumoto Rangiku squealed, hugging her smaller friend against her large bosoms.

Rukia let out an awkward chuckle while patting her friend's arm. "A-arigatou… I can't breath," she wheezed.

"Let go of her before you suffocate her," someone said by the door. Matsumoto turned back to see Abarai Renji walking into class. The red head paused for a second before kicking Keigo on the ground. "Still not giving up are you?" he asked before he reached the girls.

Matsumoto pouted as she started wiggling her upper body with Rukia still in her arms. "I'm not hurting her. Why do you hate it whenever I try to show affection to Rukia?"

"Because you have a tendency to show your affection in a dangerous way," he reasoned.

Matsumoto reluctantly released her hold and Rukia popped out from between her bosoms, gasping for air. Tatsuki grinned before smacking her petite friend on the back to help her breathe. "I think today's a new record!" she teased.

Rukia glared at her before looking at her childhood friend. "Thanks Renji."

The red head merely shrugged before going to his seat behind her.

_Ding ding ding!_

The school bell finally rang but nobody really paid too much attention to it since there was no teacher in the room.

_Sweet_.

"Okay kids, settle down!"

Never mind.

Rukia sat in her usual spot next to the window as Ishida Uryuu came in.

"Okay guys," he started, "as you know, you guys will be having a new homeroom teacher who will also be your new literature teacher since Ochi-sensei is on maternity leave." Everyone cheered at this news. Uryuu sighed as he pushed up his glasses. "ANYWAYS!" he shouted over the noise, "I want to introduce to you guys your new teacher." He looked over to the door and nodded.

And in came the most unexpected person, ever.

Rukia wasn't paying much attention until she saw something orange from the corner of her eye. She slowly looked to the front of the class only to see…

"Ohayo. Watashi wa Kurosaki Ichigo desu. Dozoyoroshiku."

No fucking way!

Placed into a state of complete shock, Rukia was about to jump up and yell, when suddenly…

"WHAT?!"

…someone else already beat her to it.

Rukia looked over to see Tatsuki standing up with an even more shocked face. "What the fuck are you doing here, Ichigo?" she asked.

Everyone gasped when they heard her use their teacher's first name and talking to him in a familiar way.

Ichigo smirked. "Hey there, Tatsuki. I haven't seen you since you were in middle school."

"No shit," she crossed her arms across her chest, "That was when you moved away to go to college."

There was another gasp of surprise.

"Um, Tatsuki," Matsumoto poked her friend from the side, "How do you know the new hunk?"

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow before pointing at Ichigo. "What the fuck are you talking about? Him? A hunk? I think you might need to get your eyes checked, Rangiku."

Ichigo glared at her. "Glad to know your manners haven't changed."

Tatsuki ignored his remark and continued. "This guy used to live here in Karakura and he babysat me and a few others in this classroom before he moved away."

Uryuu looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow. "You babysat kids?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I watched other kids along with my sisters when I was younger." When Uryuu kept giving him suspicious looks, Ichigo groaned. "I needed some money!" he reasoned.

"Right," Uryuu smirked before looking back at the students. "Please sit back down, Arisawa," he said.

But as Tatsuki sat back down someone else jumped up.

"ICHIGOOOO!"

Keigo, who was still on the ground next to the door, jumped up and flew towards his old babysitter. "I HAVE MISSED YOU MY SENPAI OF PORN—AUGH!" Before Keigo could get too close to him, Ichigo threw out a huge fist, which collided with the young teen's face.

"Glad to know you're still the same too, Keigo," Ichigo scowled, while still kicking Keigo to the ground each time he tried to grab him.

Uryuu cleared his throat to get back everyone's attention. "Anyways, I have to get going since I have my own class to attend to. Will the class rep please stand up?"

"…"

Silence.

Everyone turned to stare at Rukia who was still staring at the orange head like he had another head.

"Class rep?" Uryuu called again.

Renji leaned over his desk and lightly tapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Oi! Rukia!"

Rukia jerked to attention and quickly stood up. "H-hai."

Upon hearing a familiar name, Ichigo froze before slowly looking up. _It can't be…_ Before he could finish his thought process the very person he was thinking about was standing in front of him and staring at him with the same amount of disbelief.

Their eyes met.

Uryuu eyed her suspiciously before speaking. "I want you to help Kurosaki-sensei today. He doesn't know everyone yet and I'm entrusting you to be a model student in front of your fellow classmates."

Rukia looked away from Ichigo to lightly bow at Uryuu. "Hai, Ishida-sensei."

Uryuu nodded before patting Ichigo on the shoulders. "They're all yours," he said before walking out, making sure to walk over Keigo's unconscious form.

Rukia slowly sat back down, keeping her eyes glued to the ground to avoid eye contact with Ichigo again. It wasn't until Rukia finally sat down that Ichigo was able to look away and open the attendance book. He cleared his throat and started roll call.

---

Rukia sucked on her empty juice box thinking over the events of the day. Not only was Ichigo her new literature teacher, but he was her _neighbor_-teacher. Not to mention the fact she went to his apartment yesterday.

_This cannot be happening_, she inwardly groaned while running a hand through her dark hair.

"Oi, Rukia, you okay?" Renji asked as he sat down in front of her.

Rukia nodded as she continued playing with her juice box.

It was lunch time and like always, Rukia was sitting in the grassy field next to a huge tree with her friends sitting around her.

"So, how did you guys like that new teacher?" Renji asked.

"Che, he looks weak," Madarame Ikkaku snorted.

"But his hair is beautiful," Ayasegawa Yumichika said, flipping back his glossy hair. "I wonder where he got it done."

"Nowhere because that's his natural color," Tatsuki announced.

Everyone looked at her in shock, except Rukia. She was just thankful she was sucking on the empty juice box just then or else she might have said what Tatsuki just said. _Thank you Kami!_

"Is that even possible?" Matsumoto asked. "Isn't he Japanese?"

Tatsuki nodded. "I think his mother was a half English or something like that. One of his sisters has light brown hair."

Rukia immediately thought back to the pictures she saw back at Ichigo's apartment. "How old are his sisters?" she asked.

Tatsuki tapped her chin while thinking. "I think they're around two years younger than us. They're fraternal twins. I remember playing with them a lot. His sister Karin and I would always think of new ways to annoy Ichigo," she snickered.

"Ahhh, I remember those days," Keigo said, smiling up at the skies as tears streamed down his face in memory. "He used to beat me up because I would go through his father's medical books about sexual autonomies."

As Keigo continued rambling on and on a loud 'beep' ran across the school campus.

"_Will Kuchiki Rukia of 3-2 report to the staff room? Will Kuchiki Rukia of 3-2 report to the staff room?"_ Someone announced through the intercom.

"Well, that's me," she said as she stood up and dusted off her skirt.

"What did you do this time?" Renji smirked. "Beat up another underclassman for flipping up your skirt?"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Please. If something like that happens again, I'd beat up that kid so he'd never be able to speak again." She picked up her empty lunch box and handed it to Tatsuki. "Can you put this back in my bag when you guys go to class?"

Tatsuki took the empty bento and nodded. "No problem."

With a quick "thanks," Rukia ran back into the school building and made her way to the staff room, which was in the third floor. It only took her a few minutes to run up the stairs and finally reach the room. Before entering, Rukia stopped in front of the door and took in several deep breaths to control her breathing before sliding the door to the side and walking in.

"Um, excuse me. I was told to come here?" she called out.

"You sure are fast, Kuchiki," Uryuu said before nodding his head to the side. "Please go help Kurosaki-sensei with organizing his class lists."

Rukia stiffened. "E-excuse me?"

"What?" Uryuu raised an eyebrow. "I thought I asked you to help the new teacher this morning. Did you already forget?"

"N-no, no!" She shook her head. "I'll go right now." Without looking back, Rukia quickly stepped away from Uryuu and made her way to where Ichigo was shuffling through stacks of paper. "Ano, Ichi—Kurosaki-sensei?"

Man, did that taste foreign in her mouth.

Ichigo stopped in the middle of this scavenger hunt when he heard the unexpected and somewhat creepy voice. He cautious looked up only to see Rukia looking down at him. "Rukia?"

Upon hearing her name come out of his mouth so casually, Rukia narrowed her eyes while speaking loudly in a fake, high pitch tone. "Sensei, do you need any help? As the number one student in my class, it is my duty to help out as much as possible." Rukia paused for a second to see several teachers looking her way and nodding their head in approval. But as Ichigo kept staring at her like she was crazy, she quickly pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner, sensei. But my fellow students needed me to help them. But I guess it's not a good enough excuse since you won't let me help you. Gomenasai, sensei. I promise to do much better so please stop looking at me like that," she sniffed.

Now he was irritated. "What the fuck are you—"

"Watch your mouth, Kurosaki," Uryuu threatened from across the room. "You're in front of one of our brightest students who could bring good reputation to our school. So stop bothering her."

"I didn't do anything!" he shouted pointing a finger at her. "She's just making shit up—"

"Gomenasai! Please don't fight because me!" She was just making this worse…and the worst part was that Ichigo could tell she was enjoying this, seeing him getting glared at by his fellow teachers.

"Why I ought a—"

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo was unable to finish his threat when suddenly a brunette, big busted woman flew at him from the side, her arms wrapping around his chest, squeezing him tightly against her.

"I can't believe it's really you!" she squealed. "Ishida-kun told me but I didn't believe him until I saw you myself!"

"I-Inoue?!" he screamed, noticing who it was from the glinting hairpins on either side of her head.

The woman stepped back, smiling, her arms still around his chest. "Yup! It's been a few years, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Ichigo," called out a low, brass voice.

Ichigo looked up to see Chad walking into the staff room. "Chad! Where were you this morning? I didn't see you during the staff meeting."

Chad nodded before replying. "There are some students who come early in the morning for training. I help them."

"Oh," Ichigo nodded his head. "Well, I guess you're the lucky one who can skip out on those boring meetings seeing how you're the gym teacher and they don't really help you."

Chad nodded his head in agreement.

"Ahem!"

The three turned to the source of the sudden cough to see Uryuu standing in front of them. He looked between Ichigo and Orihime, shaking his head. "I know we're all good friends and everything but please reframe yourselves from displaying too much friendliness, especially in front of co-workers and students."

Ichigo quickly yanked Orihime's arms away from him as the glares from throughout the room, especially those from other men, intensified. Not to mention Rukia was looking at him with a blank stare, which could mean anything to 'I'm going to kill you' to—

_Wait, why am I so bothered by what the midget might think?_ He thought to himself before awkwardly smiling to the staff. "Sorry about that," he waved, though it really didn't help much. He sighed, already feeling the burden on his shoulders growing. _Great, another thing I need to be careful about; Inoue attacking me and my new co-workers thinking I'm some player with a bad attitude._ He grabbed a piece of paper, looking back at his student. "Ru—"

"Kuchiki," Uryuu suddenly interrupted.

Rukia was shaken out of her daze when she heard her name. "Hai?"

Uryuu came up and handed her a different piece of paper. "This is the new list of clean-up duties. I modified it to fit better with the new schedule and the new teacher."

Ichigo glared at his friend. "Isn't that my job?"

Uryuu merely shrugged his shoulders. "I had a feeling you might not finish it in time for tomorrow. Besides, I'm more organized than you."

Ichigo was about to retort when Orihime suddenly chipped in. "I have an excellent idea!" she grinned widely, quickly getting the attention of the staff plus one student. She looked at the two men with sparkles in her eyes. "Let's go out for dinner tonight! We should celebrate Kurosaki-kun's employment into our school. Then we should go karaoke!"

Everyone in the room cheered in agreement, while Chad merely nodded and Uryuu sighed before also nodding his head. It wasn't often they get to drop their work and go out for a drink…without getting in trouble from the principal.

Orihime smiled when Rukia suddenly caught her eyes. "Oh! I didn't realize you were still here, Kuchiki-san. But I hope you realize you can't come with us," she bent down to Rukia's level with one hand on her hip and another hand in the air, wagging her index finger in front of Rukia like a mother would towards a naughty child. "You're still too young to drink."

Rukia looked at her school's nurse and smiled. "Of course. I was just wondering if Kurosaki-sensei had anything else he needed help with." Before Ichigo could say anything about the piece of paper he still held the bell suddenly rung. "Oh! That's the end of lunch. I guess I should go back to class now," Rukia bowed before quickly exiting through the door.

"Ru—"

"I can't wait for tonight!"

_Why is everyone interrupting me?!_ Ichigo screamed in his head when Orihime suddenly squealed. And by then Rukia had already shut the door, disappearing into the school hallway.

A sigh came from Ichigo as he looked down at the paper in his hand. _Student Information: Name, Address, __Phone Number, __Email, __Extra Information__._ He really needed to update his student information sheet so he could send emails about the new books he was assigning this week. Maybe he should visit Urahara…

---

Rukia waved back before leaving her group of friends to turn the corner to the corner of her apartment. She released a long sigh as she slowly walked the remaining meters to her place.

Today's been a lousy day. First, Urahara was all out of Chappy-shaped chocolate bars before school. Second, her favorite teacher left for maternity leave. And third—

Rukia's thought process stopped and she also halted to a stop. She was thinking carefully about the third reason why today was a bad day, when her eyes narrowed.

She looked to left at her apartment building then to the right where's Ichigo's apartment was. She looked back and forth several times before checking her watch. It was only 4:15pm. Even if he went out drinking, he wouldn't be _that _late, would he? Especially when it was a school night…

Rukia let out a frustrated groan before stomping her way over to his apartment.

---

Ichigo groaned as he made his way up the stairs. He could feel the alcohol playing with his body. Usually he'd quit before getting too drunk but Inoue was so persistent to get him drunk, saying today was a celebration, that he had a little bit too many. Not to mention he and Uryuu had a little drinking battle again. _Man, everything is a competition with that bastard_, he thought.

It was nice seeing Inoue again since he hadn't seen her since they graduated from high school, along with Ishida and Chad… but sometimes that girl was too crazy for him. How she became a nurse was beyond him.

However, Chad was different. That big guy always had a thing for taking care of people younger than him. Not to mention he always was a mentor-like person. The fact he was now the school P.E. teacher was no surprise to the orange head. He was happy to accept a new job back at his hometown where all his friends were also working in the same place.

Ichigo finally made his way up the last step when he looked up to see an unexpected visitor sitting outside his door. He smirked. "Shouldn't you be doing your homework?"

Rukia's head jerked up and she stared at him as he approached her. She was sitting with her back against his door, knees popped up and her head resting on it. She's been waiting since school ended, and now it was…she checked her watch to read the time. "It's past midnight. Shouldn't you be home grading papers instead of drinking?" she retorted, "Are you drunk?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Please. I'm an adult; I know how to hold my drinks."

Without a word she stood up as Ichigo opened the door to his apartment and entered, leaving it open for Rukia to follow. As soon as she closed the door, Rukia lifted her bag and slammed it against the back of Ichigo's head.

"OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!" Ichigo yelled, falling onto his knees and clutching his throbbing head with both hands.

"For being an idiot!" she screeched. She gave a big push, shoving Ichigo into his apartment. But Ichigo turned around and grabbed her wrist at the last moment, causing both of them to fall inside the apartment, Rukia landing on top of him.

Rukia groaned before lifting her head off of his rock-hard chest. She looked down and glared. "Why didn't you tell me you were my new teacher?!"

Ichigo looked up and glared back. "I didn't know!" he shouted, "Heck, I didn't even know you were in high school!"

"Then what do you think I was wearing on the first day we met!" She reasoned. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Ichigo bit his lower lip, cursing a thousand curses in his head. "How do you expect me to remember things like that?! I don't exactly have the best memory in this town, you know!"

Rukia ran her hands through her hair before pulling on its ends. "This cannot be happening," she groaned.

"You're telling me," Ichigo snorted, propping himself up on his elbows. "But why is this a big deal?" he suddenly asked.

Rukia stiffened for a second, staring at him as if he was the biggest idiot in the world. "Because! We're neighbors!"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So? SO?!" Rukia smacked his forehead. "Do you have any idea what's going to happen if the school finds out that I live close to my 'sensei' and I've been in his apartment? _Alone_?!" she emphasized.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I have better taste that that," he spat out. He quickly earned another smack. "Will you stop that?!" he yelled, grabbing her wrist and keeping them immobile on top of his chest.

"I will when you stop being an idiot!" she shouted back.

The two grinded their teeth together as they held a small glare-battle.

THAT was when Ichigo noticed the position they were in. And he couldn't help but smirk.

Rukia immediately noticed the sudden change in his expression. "What are you smirking about?" she asked.

"You know," he started, "If anyone from school is to know about this, they'll see _you_ as the perpetrator and _me_ as the victim."

"What?"

Ichigo's smirk grew bigger before he thrust his hip upwards.

And that was when she felt _it_.

Rukia looked down to see her legs straddling his hips. And yes, _she_ looked like the attacker when in most cases it should be the other way around.

"Seems like Miss. Number One is blushing," Ichigo teased, trying to get a better look at Rukia's face which was hidden by her hair. "Are you embarrassed? After all, you were the one who was waiting for me, hit me, and push me down."

Rukia gulped. She quickly controlled the red hue on her face before looking up, glaring at Ichigo. "Don't think for a second you're intimidating me." She yanked her constrained hands out of his grasps before smacking his head again. "You don't scare me," she said before lifting one of her legs off the ground to get off of him.

But before she could get too far, Ichigo grabbed her wrist again, twisting their body around, and landed on the ground with Rukia suddenly underneath him and him on all four, hovering over her petite body.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked, glaring up at him.

Ichigo smirked down at her. "I think I had a little too much to drink. I might be drunk after all."

However, instead of showing fear or a blush like before, Rukia merely looked up at him with an evil look. "You're not scaring me in the least."

Ichigo stared at her in silence for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "True. You might not be scared of me, but someone could attack you like this someday. Prepare yourself," he advised before sitting up. He held out a hand to offer some aid but Rukia just propped herself up before smacking him over the head.

"That's for being an idiot."

Ichigo rubbed the sore spot on his head before standing up. He looked over to see Rukia straightening out her clothes before grabbing her bag. "I'm leaving," she said made her way to the door.

As she opened the door, Ichigo called out. "Rukia!"

The petite girl turned around to see him leaning against the wall with that annoying smirk on his face. "What?" she hissed.

"Come to school early tomorrow. I need you're help with something," he said. "At least an hour or so earlier."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she replied before walking out the door, which quickly closed behind her.

* * *

A/N: Phew, that was long! Hope some of you guys liked that semi-fluff in the end. I wanted it to add more smut but decided against it. It's too early.

FYI: some characters I address by their first name (Ichigo, Rukia, Tatsuki, etc.) while others I write down their surname (Matsumoto, Hinamori, Hitsugaya, etc.). Sorry if that confuses anyone of you guys; I just write as I feel most comfortable with. I do read their complete name with their surname first, just like how they do in Japan. So if that bothers anyone, again, I apologize.

Anyways, REVEIW!!! please!!!!!


	4. 04 Hangovers Sucks

**Author's Note: Okay, this weird glitch thing in is really bugging me out. I've been trying to log on since Saturday night but it wouldn't let me on!!!! But FINALLY I got in (thanks to the little hint by _Fictionstv_). All you have to do is refresh the page. You might have to do it several times (I did for a good twenty times or so) and it will eventually show the login page.**

**Anyways, THANKS again to everyone who reviewed! I was literally sparkling in gratitude for the whole week. I hope you guys like this chapter. Not much happens yet; just the two of them annoying the hell out of each other like always. Please read and review!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 4: Hangovers Sucks

* * *

"You're late."

Ichigo looked up to see an angry Rukia glaring at him with her arms crossed in front of her. He then looked up to read the clock above the chalkboard.

8:00 am.

The orange head groaned. "Give me a break, midget."

Rukia felt a vein pumping fast on her forehead at the word 'midget.' "You're the one who told me to be here early. Now there's only thirty minutes left until class starts!"

Ichigo groaned again, rubbing his temple. "Keep your voice down, midget, you're killing me."

Before Rukia could shout anything back at him, she closed her mouth and stared as he staggered towards the front desk in pain. "Second day of work and you're already sick?" she asked.

Ichigo glared. "Bitch, it's a hangover."

"I thought you were kidding about the 'I'm drunk' thing last night," she said.

"Me too," he nodded, dropping his stuff on the podium before placing his elbows on it, propping them up as he dropped his head on top of them. "But I woke up this morning with the worst hangover ever."

Rukia sighed. "How do you expect to teach today if you can barely stand me yelling at you?" Ichigo only replied with another strained groan. Rukia rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag and went to the door.

Ichigo's eyes followed her. "Where are you going?" he called out.

"I'll be back in a sec.," she replied before running down the hallway.

For a good two minutes Ichigo continued massaging his throbbing temples when something cold suddenly touched his forehead. He yelped in surprise. "What the fuck?!" He looked up and noticed Rukia standing in front of him with a cold water-bottle in one hand and a small bottle of aspirin in the other.

"I always carry around aspirin since my friends have a tendency to drive me up the wall quite often," she shrugged her shoulders as she tossed the items to the orange head who clumsily caught it.

"Thanks…I guess," Ichigo replied before opening the bottle, popping a pill in his mouth, and washing it down with water.

Rukia merely nodded before taking a seat atop of the desk nearest him. "Anyways, why am I here so early in the morning?"

Ichigo looked over and lifted an orange brow. "What?" Rukia immediately tossed a hard book at Ichigo's face, hitting him straight on. He fell over and quickly jumped back on his feet with an angry face, wiping away the blood dripping down from his nose. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"For forgetting that _you_ were the one who told me to arrive early today," Rukia growled back, crossing her arms across her chest again.

"…When?" Again, Ichigo got hit with another book. "Will you fucking stop throwing shit at me?!"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You really need to work on your language; don't forget you're a teacher now," she said before jumping off the desk and walking over. She stood in front of Ichigo and poked him on the chest. "And for your information, you told me _last night_ to come early and I did. However, you came thirty minutes late."

Ichigo looked down at her and smirked. "You're even shorter up front."

Before another second passed Rukia grabbed her bag and slammed it down on the orange field of head.

"OW! Fucking bitch, will you stop hitting me?! I'm still not over my hangover!" Ichigo yelled.

Rukia crossed her arms again and glared up at him. "Well it's not my fault you went drinking last night."

"Keeping rubbing it in midget," Ichigo growled before slumping over the desk. "But I serious can't remember why I wanted you to come to class so early. You sure _you_ weren't drunk?"

Rukia rolled her eyes and replied, "I'm still underage."

"I doubt that stops anyone from drinking," Ichigo commented.

Rukia opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She looked over at Ichigo and smirked. "Is this from your own personal experience?"

Ichigo just looked at her for a second before smirking back. "I have TONS of crazy memories from my high school days."

"Why am I not surprised," Rukia shook her head. "Anyways, think hard to remember why you needed me. Or else I'm going to rip out those chicken feathers off your head for making me get up so early this morning."

"Ehh," Ichigo groaned, scratching the back of his head in frustration. "It might have something to do with some paperwork but I guess it's not that important if I can't even remember it."

"Or you're just stupid," Rukia mumbled to the side.

"I heard that," Ichigo glared.

Rukia glared back. "That's because I wanted you to hear it, dumbass."

Ichigo stared at her for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. "Fine, but you should be careful with what you say and _how_ you say it. I am you're teacher now, you know."

"A stupid teacher," Rukia snapped back, "Don't think you can intimidate me by using your position against me. Don't forget I know where you live," she pointed a finger at him.

Ichigo only groaned, waving his hand in the air as if dismissing that information, when suddenly it struck him. "I suddenly remember what I needed you to do," he yawned before slowly reaching over to his bag and dumping out its content. "I needed you to give me an update on the student information thing…here," he handed over a piece of paper while his upper body was still slumped over the desk, "Give it back to me by today; I need to email the new list of books to the students."

Rukia looked over the sheet that had her classmates' names and old information on it. She groaned. "This is too bothersome. Do I really have to do this?"

"Well, if you don't, who will? There's no way in hell I'm going to do it," Ichigo said.

Letting out a long sigh Rukia grabbed a pencil and looked over the paper in her hand. "I'll do this today but you better not order me around after this or else I'm going to make you regret it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ichigo waved her off again.

Rukia glared at him before going through the list and making as much corrections as she could by herself.

Hopefully it won't take too long…

---

Rukia walked around the classroom all throughout lunch and the ten-minute breaks between classes, asking each student to update their information. One after another she got what she needed and wrote it on a different piece of paper, organizing everything like the 'perfectionist' that she was.

Renji walked over and leaned over her shoulder. "What's all this?"

"The student information sheet," Rukia simply replied while continuing to scribble on the paper.

"But you didn't ask us for our information," Renji pointed out as he tried to read what she was writing.

"That's because I already updated you guys' information myself," she said before glaring up at him, "Now would you leave me alone? I can't think straight with you breathing down my neck."

Renji shrugged and pulled up a chair in front of Rukia and sat down on it backwards, facing his friend while his legs were spread apart on either side of the back rest. He silently watched as Rukia went down the list and made changes here and there.

After a few minutes of silence, Renji spoke up again. "Looks boring."

"It is," Rukia said, "But Ich—Kurosaki-sensei wanted this done before the end of school so he can email us the new materials for this class."

"Augh, I'm not looking forward to that. I just gotten used to Ochi-sensei's style but now I have to figure out this new teacher's grading method?" Renji snorted, scratching the back of his head.

Rukia sighed. "I know what you mean. Hopefully he's not too strict like Ishida-sensei."

"He might be since he is friends with that gay teacher," Renji frowned.

Rukia chuckled and looked at her childhood friend. "You're lucky Ishida-sensei isn't here right now. You know how much he hates that stupid rumor that's going around school."

"Well, he is the teacher in charge of the handicraft club," Renji smirked.

Rukia stopped chuckling and her eyes widened. "You didn't…don't tell you're the one who started that crazy rumor!"

This time Renji smirked, devilishly. "That's what that bastard gets for giving me a fucking 'F' in that science project. I wasted a good day working on that thing when I could have been at the club with my buddies."

Rukia dropped her head and shook it in disbelief. "I can't believe you'd stoop so low. You did have over a week to do the project so it was natural for you to get an 'F' if you did it in just _one_ day."

"Whatever," Renji snorted, resting his head against the top of the backrest of the chair. He kept watching as Rukia rewrote the student information on another piece of paper. "How much longer do you have to do this?"

"Awhile," she simply replied, "There's a lot more changes than I expected."

Renji turned his body to read what she had written. He lifted a red brow in confusion. "I don't think Kurosaki-sensei will be able to read your writing. They look like chicken-scratch."

Rukia looked up and glared at him with all the ice in the world. "Watch it before I decide to stab your eye with this pen."

Renji lifted up his two hands in the air as a sign of defeat. "I won't bother you anymore," he said, standing up from the chair and stretching. "Anyways, hurry up. Break is almost over."

"I'm not even close to finishing. I just got the last information and it's taking forever to rewrite everything."

"Why are you rewriting them then?" Renji asked.

Rukia sighed. "There's a lot of changes and it won't fit into this little paper," she said, shaking the original student information sheet in front of Renji, "So I'm rewriting it, organizing the list."

"Aren't you trying too hard to appear good to the new teacher?" Renji asked.

"What are you implying?" Rukia asked back.

Renji scooted closer and peered at Rukia's face up close. "What I'm implying is: Are you trying to get at something with the new teach'?"

Instead of saying anything, Rukia grabbed a nearby book and smacked Renji across the face in a flash. "Watch what you're saying before another rumor starts."

"Bitch," Renji mumbled as he rubbed the side of his bruising face. And just as he said the bell soon rung, signaling the start of their last class for the day. Renji returned to his seat behind his friend, while glaring at her, as she tried to finish her work. But it seemed almost impossible, no matter how fast she wrote.

One by one everyone started to return to class, all ready to end the day. Tatsuki walked in, chatting with Matsumoto and Hinamori about the amount of homework that they had to do.

"I can't believe Ishida-sensei is making us write another report on that gravitational force-thingy again," Matsumoto whined.

"It's not that hard so stop whining," Tatsuki teased. Matsumoto looked at her and pouted.

Hinamori patted Matsumoto's back in comfort. "Don't worry about it, Rangiku-chan. I'll help you write your report."

"EEEIII! I know there was a reason why I love you so much," Matsumoto squealed, grabbing Hinamori into another—literally—breath-taking hug.

"Rangiku, you're choking her again," Tatsuki said as she yanked Matsumoto's grasp off their little friend.

Hinamori took in several deep breaths, smiling up at her friend. "Thank you, Tatsuki-chan."

The girls walked over to Rukia and looked over her shoulder.

"You're still not done with that thing?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah, it's taking longer than I thought," Rukia frowned.

Matsumoto patted her friend's shoulder. "Well good luck getting that done before school gets out," she said before returning to her desk.

Rukia only nodded her head in response as her friends left her and the teacher came in to start class. For the entire class period Rukia was busy going back and forth between class work and Ichigo's stupid paperwork that she was utterly confused with what she was _really_ doing.

In the end, after the bell rung and everyone packed up and left, Rukia had to stay behind alone and finish things up.

"See you tomorrow, Rukia," Renji waved back as he left the classroom with his Kendo buddies.

Tatsuki and the other girls also waved as they left. Rukia only waved her hand but never took her eyes off the paper. She had to quickly finish this thing if she wanted to get home in time to catch the special rerun of _Chappy the Rabbit and Friends: Escape Treasure Island_ tonight. Without much care how messy her writing was Rukia finished her work and grabbed her stuff before making her way to the staff room.

"Ano, sumimasen," Rukia slowly stepped in, "Is Kurosaki-sensei here?"

Uryuu looked up from his desk and pushed up his glasses. "Kuchiki? Why do you need Ichigo?"

Rukia held up the paper in her hand and smiled. "I need to give him this new information sheet that he requested. Is he here?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not here right now," Uryuu said, "He requested a private staff room yesterday so he's in the room down the hall, room 304."

"Arigato gozaimasu," Rukia bowed before closing the door and making her way down the hall. She looked at her surroundings and noticed nobody was in the halls but her. Looking out the window, Rukia could see students leaving the school grounds except for a few students who were staying behind for extra curricular activities.

With a sigh, Rukia arrived at room 304 and knocked on the door hard, as if venting out her frustration on it.

"_Who is it?"_ came Ichigo's voice from the other side.

"It's me," Rukia replied.

Within seconds Ichigo opened the door. "What do you want?" he asked.

Rukia rolled her eyes before waving the piece of paper in front of him. "I finally finished this shit that you gave me this morning."

Ichigo snatched the paper that Rukia was waving in front of him and looked through the list. "What took you forever?"

"There were a lot more changes than I thought," she sighed before turning around. "I'm going now so I'll see you later—" Before Rukia could step away, Ichigo grabbed her elbow, stopping her. "What?" she glared, "I'm tired from doing that stupid thing and I have to get home."

Ichigo ignored her and handed back the sheet. "I can't read a single word on this paper."

Rukia glared before grabbing it back. "What are you talking about? Are you blind or something?"

"No, but your handwriting looks like chicken-scratch," Ichigo retorted, "There's no way I can read this shit—OW! What was that for bitch?!"

Rukia, who just stepped on his foot, glared up at the tall orange head. "For calling my handwriting 'shit.'"

"Well it is," Ichigo glared before reaching behind him and grabbing his bag. He pushed Rukia to the side and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" Rukia questioned through gritted teeth.

"Getting ready to get out of here," he said. Ichigo started to walk away, but because he still had a grip on Rukia's arm, he was dragging her with him.

"Ichigo, let go," Rukia said, "If you want to leave, then that's fine with me. But let go of me."

But instead of listening, Ichigo tightened his hold on her arm and looked back at her over his shoulder. "You're coming with me."

"WHAT?!" Rukia shouted.

Ichigo stopped and glared. "SHH! What if somebody hears you?"

"There's nobody here," Rukia informed him, "But that doesn't answer why I have to go with you!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes before dragging her towards the stairs again. "Because there is no way I can read that chicken-scratch—" Ichigo paused for a second to rub his arm that Rukia suddenly pinched, "—So you're going to have to come back to my place and type whatever's on that paper into my computer."

"Why should I?" Rukia asked, "I really have to go home."

"Why?" Ichigo asked as they walked down the stairs, "I thought you lived alone."

"I do—how did you know that?" Rukia asked, realizing she never told him that much information about herself.

"Urahara," he simply stated which was enough of an answer.

"I have a lot of homework, that's why," Rukia pouted.

Ichigo stopped as they reached the shoe lockers just before the doors. "And you're sure it's not because of the special rerun of that Chappy movie?" he smirked as he grabbed his shoes.

Rukia froze in the middle of putting on her shoes. Slowly she looked up with wide, suspicious eyes. "Okay, how do you know about _that_? I doubt Urahara would know something about that too."

"Please," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I know you're a Chappy fan, and my little sister has been going on and on about that stupid movie—OW! Stop doing that!" Ichigo shouted when Rukia suddenly stepped on his foot again.

"Chappy is not stupid!" she glared.

Ichigo rolled his eyes before grabbing her arm again. "Whatever. You can watch that shitty movie at my place; just come and do this for me."

"I bet you just don't want to do it yourself so you're trying to get me to do it," Rukia said, while allowing herself to get dragged again by him, "I bet you were a bully when you were in high school."

"Yes for the former but no for the latter," Ichigo answered, "I really don't want to do this shit because I have hella papers to go over; but as for the second part, no I was not a bully. Just look at the type of people I hung out with: Ishida and Chad. We might look intimidating but we never started any of the fights."

"Ah, but you admit you did get into fight!" Rukia pointed at him.

They stopped when they reached a crosswalk. By this point Ichigo released his hold on her since they were going to go the same way anyways so there was no way she'd run away.

"Yes I did fight," Ichigo replied before pointing up to his hair, "I think it's quite inevitable if you have hair like this. Fucking bastards picked fights with me because they thought I was trying to copy their 'dyed' hair color, while others picked on Ishida because he was smart and Chad because he's part Mexican."

"Oh," Rukia nodded in realization as she followed Ichigo to his apartment. "I guess that orange hair must have been bothersome when you were young." When she got no reply she walked past him and turned around, facing him as she walked backwards. "Why didn't you dye your hair black then?"

Ichigo shrugged. He reached up and twisted a lock of orange hair between his fingers. "It was my mom's idea. She always liked my hair because apparently it reflected my 'colorful side,'" he air quoted.

Rukia chuckled. "And just what part of you was 'colorful'?"

"I was brighter when I was younger," he retorted.

"Then what happened that made you change?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. But instead of answer, Ichigo ignored her as he continued walking. A few seconds past and he still didn't answer. Rukia waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

Ichigo slapped her hand away before walking ahead and up the stairs towards his apartment.

"Bastard," Rukia murmured before something struck her. Why was she here in front of Ichigo's apartment?

Ichigo, who was already up a few steps, stopped and turned back when he didn't hear Rukia's footstep following behind him. "Aren't you coming?"

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I never agreed to help you—"

"I'll make you dinner," he replied.

---

"Aren't you done yet?"

"Shut up before I shove this thing down your throat!" Rukia shouted back.

Ichigo emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of rice and placed in on the table. "How long can it possible take to update a list of less than forty students?"

Rukia turned away from the computer to glare at him. "Just be fucking grateful that I'm doing this for you!"

Ichigo lifted up two pairs of chopsticks and grinned. "At least I'm making you dinner."

At those words Rukia froze before going back to the computer to finish up the new student information sheet while mumbling small curses under her breath.

"I can still hear you," Ichigo called out from the kitchen. Instead of stopping Rukia only spoke louder, mumbling more curses. Upon hearing her voice get louder and louder Ichigo couldn't help but smirk as he laid down the last plate of food on the table. "Oi, Rukia! Dinner's ready!"

"About time!" Rukia slammed her hands on the desk and pushed herself up. She ran across Ichigo's apartment, over to the table, and sat across from Ichigo. "Itadekimasu!" She shouted as she grabbed her utensils and quickly dug into her meal.

Ichigo watched from across the table with a bit of disgust as she shoved food after food down her throat. "Have you been starving you're entire life or something? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Rukia paused in her 'eating' to glare up. "Don't stick your nose into something that doesn't concern you."

"True…but if you don't answer then I might never make you food again," Ichigo shrugged before starting his dinner.

The sound of Rukia chewing stopped and a long silence surrounded them with only Ichigo's chewing making it not so eerie. After a few seconds, Rukia glared at Ichigo before whispering, "I can't cook."

"Figured as much," Ichigo simply replied before shoving a pickled radish into his mouth, "Now that wasn't so hard to admit, was it? I knew there was a reason why you're so short, midget."

Rukia quickly responded by kicking him under the table. "I'm not a midget! I'm just petite!"

Ichigo groaned while rubbing his sore shin. "Whatever you say, midget."

"Stop calling me that!" Rukia glared, "Besides, it might not mean much to you but I've been made fun of because I can't cook."

"Then how have you been living until now?" Ichigo asked.

"Urahara's store has tons of snacks and junk food," she shrugged.

Ichigo frowned at her comment. "That's not healthy for you. If you're not careful starting at a young age, you'll regret it in the future."

"I know," Rukia replied, "But there isn't anything I can do about it since I can't cook. It's not like I can take lessons on it either since I'm busy with school work and everything."

Ichigo chewed on his food as he watched Rukia continued shoving rice down her throat. _She sure lacks manners, too_. "Wanna make a deal with me?" he suddenly asked.

"What kind of 'deal'?" she asked while grabbing a piece of grilled fish.

Ichigo leaned forward and pointed his chopsticks at her. "I'll teach you how to cook if you agree to help me."

For what seemed like the millionth time today, Rukia froze in her spot while processing the words in her head. Slowly she looked up with a raised brow. "What kind of 'help'?" she asked with a suspicious look.

At first Ichigo wasn't sure why she was looking at him like that but it suddenly hit him and he immediately glared at her. "Please, I'm not that desperate," Ichigo said, "I meant help me out with class work. You come over and help me grade papers and stuff like that. How does that sound?"

"If you hate paperwork that much, why did you become a teacher?" she asked.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I have a huge love for literature so I decided this field of work. But that's beside the point. Do want to make the deal or not."

Rukia tapped the end of her chopsticks against her lips in deep thought. "That doesn't sound too bad…as long as you feed me if I fail at cooking," she included.

Ichigo nodded before sticking his hand out. "Deal."

Rukia grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. "Deal than."

* * *

A/N: Ah, and now we see the forbidden interaction between teacher and student. I hope you guys like this chapter. See a plot forming? It's going to get bigger soon.

Anyways, please review!

P.S. Sorry for any mistakes! I'm always in a hurry so I can't catch them all.


	5. 05 Secret Visits

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for not posting up a new chapter last week. I had a MAJOR research paper due this week and it was worth over 30% of my grade so I couldn't write anything. Anyways, as soon as I turned it in, I immediately started on this chapter. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long...BUT that also means there are more spelling/grammatical errors. This chapter is long so please understand I couldn't check everything perfectly.  
**

**In this chapter Ichigo and Rukia are just dealing with their lives, neither of them knowing where it could be heading.**

**Please read and review.**

**PS. THANKS for the reviews! I can't believe it already passed forty. When I get more time on my hands I'll send out special 'thank you's' or maybe write them in another chapter. Until then!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 5: Secret Visits

* * *

"You're doing it all wrong!" Ichigo yelled.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have if you were teaching it right in the first place!" Rukia shouted back while stomping him on the foot.

Ichigo growled before taking the spatula and flipping over the omelet. "It's all burnt. I never met anyone as horrible a cook as you."

"Shut up and just get rid of it," she said.

Ichigo took the entire frying pan and went over to the garbage. He dumped in the nth try of omelets into the garbage and sighed. "I feel like I got the bad end of this deal."

"You really need to stop your whining," Rukia glared. She walked over to the table and sat in the chair. "I still can't believe I have to grade all this paperwork," she said while looking at the stack of papers in front of her.

"That's still a lot easier than teaching you how to cook," Ichigo snapped back.

Rukia snorted as she grabbed a red pen and the first paper on the stack.

"Giving up on the omelet?" he asked.

Rukia only grunted as she started to work on grading. Taking that as a 'yes,' Ichigo quickly cleaned up his kitchen before joining her at the table. He sat down in front of her, also grabbing a red pen and some paper, and started to work.

For the next few hours a comfortable silence surrounded them as they graded papers, only broken once in awhile whenever Rukia needed Ichigo's opinion on something.

"Ahhh!" Rukia stretched her arms over her head and groaned in pleasure, "Finally I'm done!"

Ichigo smirked as he got up and went over to his kitchen. "You want some coffee?"

"That sounds nice," she yawned, leaning her body on top of the table. "I have to stay awake since I still have homework to do."

"For what classes?" Ichigo asked as he turned on the coffee brewer.

Rukia lifted her hand and started to count off her list of homework. "I have some pages to do on my math, science, and not to mention your stupid paper on that boring book."

Ichigo chuckled as he brought out two mugs from the cupboard. "If you want you can just give me the gist of what you have so far for my homework and I can just grade it from there."

Rukia's head shot up and she stared at him. "What's the catch?"

Ichigo walked over and set down a cup of coffee in front of her before sitting back in his seat with his own cup in hand. "Just don't expect anything over 80 percent."

"Psch," Rukia snorted, "I'd rather stay up the entire night and get 100 percent. "

"If you wish," Ichigo shrugged, slowly sipping his coffee. "You can just do your work here. If you want, I can even help you," he paused when Rukia's eyes glared at him with suspicion, "As long as it's not for my class."

Rukia scrunched up her nose in thought before reaching for her bag and pulling out her textbooks. "Then can you help me with math? I just hate calculus."

Ichigo smirked as he made his way to the seat next to Rukia. "Who's your teacher?"

"Hitsugaya-sensei," she groaned.

"Little Toushiro, eh?" Ichigo smirked.

"You close with him?" she asked as she opened her notebook and her textbook to the right page.

Ichigo shrugged. "Kinda. We went to high school together."

"But I thought he was younger than you," Rukia commented.

"He is," Ichigo nodded, "He's a child genius; a few years younger than me and my other friends. I actually thought he was going to be a lawyer or something but for some reason he decided to teach," he said as he looked over her homework, "Now that I think about it, a lot of my friends returned to our high school to teach."

"Why?" Rukia asked as she started the first problem.

"Don't know," he said as he watched her carefully solve out the problem, "I was actually going to be a doctor and work with my father at his clinic. But after the second year of medical school I decided to become a teacher instead."

Rukia looked up and frowned. "You don't look like a 'doctor' type."

Ichigo chuckled. "I know—that suppose be a square root," he said, pointing to the problem.

"Dammit," Rukia cursed as she erased the lower half of the problem, "I hate math."

Ichigo smirked as he watched her tackle each of the problem for another hour. After every few lines he would point out a mistake, frustrating her to no end. "How in the world are you the student representative in your class if you suck this bad in math?"

"Shut up," she groaned, "This is the only subject I have difficulty in. And I'm only passing this class because I do a lot of extra credit work."

Ichigo shook his head in disbelief as he took the last gulp of his coffee. "Damn, you're taking too long. How are you planning on finishing all your homework now? It's almost midnight."

Rukia immediately stood up to read the clock; it was less than a quarter before midnight. "Shit, I should get going."

"You sure you want to go now? I think you still need help with your homework," Ichigo commented.

Rukia shook her head as she packed her stuff into her bag. "I only have one more problem left for math and that science report for Ishida-sensei. Luckily I finished half of it at school already."

"And what about mine?"

Rukia froze at the end of his question. Staying very still, her eyes looked back up at the clock, watching the second hand ticked away. Slowly, she turned around and gave him her best, _fake_ innocent smile. "Kurosaki-sensei—"

"Don't think you can pull that shit on me, Rukia," Ichigo smirked, "I know you too well to fall for that trick."

Rukia immediately dropped the act and glared. "Then what do I do? I've been busy helping you out with your shit that I couldn't finish all my homework."

Ichigo shrugged. "Then you should have taken my offer when I offered it awhile ago."

"Fucking bastard," Rukia cursed under her breath as she sat back down, crossing her arms across her chest. "What can I do?"

Again, Ichigo shrugged. "Hey, you're the one who said you're willing to stay up all night if you could get a full 100 percent so I'm letting you."

Rukia grunted, rubbing her face with her hands. "But I'm fucking tired. I wasted so much of my energy making all that food with you. I don't know why I actually took your offer; I think you're getting the better end of this deal."

"At least you're a lot better than when you first started," Ichigo commented, "Remember the first time we tried cooking?"

Rukia grunted. Even though she totally failed a few hours ago with the omelet, it's true that she could now boil water. And the past two weeks she actually learned how to use the rice cooker and make some simple meals.

Ichigo got up and started to organize the papers they graded. "I'll tell you what." He looked down and smirked at her. "I'll give you one more day to turn in your paper if you come over here tomorrow after school and help me with some stuff. It is a Saturday after all."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "What kind of stuff?"

Ichigo looked at her suspicious stare before rolling his eyes. "You really gotta do something about those perverted thoughts of yours."

"And who was the one who kept grinding himself against me in the middle of the night?" she scoffed.

"I was fucking drunk!" Ichigo snapped back, "Will you stop bringing that up?!"

Rukia crossed her arms. "Not until you stop your perverted requests."

"I never asked you to anything perverted with me. In fact, I clearly remember telling you that I'd _never_ be desperate enough to go for a midget like you," Ichigo rolled his eyes, earning him a quick kick to the shin. "Anyways, my sister is sending over some new furniture so I have to clean out this apartment. THAT's what I need your help with."

Rukia sighed as she brought her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and massaged the area. "Fine."

"Excellent," he said as went over to the coat hanger to grab his jacket.

"Where are you going?" Rukia asked as she saw him grabbing his keys next.

"I'm walking you home," he said, "It's not safe for you to walk home this late at night."

Rukia rolled her eyes as she got on her jacket and then her bag. "Please, my building is directly across from yours. I doubt anything is going to happen."

"I just don't like it, okay?" Ichigo went to the genkan and slipped on his sneakers. "Let's go."

Rukia sighed. No point in arguing. She walked over and slipped her feet into her own shoes and followed him out the door, Ichigo closing it behind them and locking it. The two silently walked out of the apartment and into the dark streets.

"Oi," Ichigo called out.

"What?" she groaned in annoyance.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, contemplating whether or not to ask…He chose to ask. "I know I shouldn't be prying into your private life, but I'm just curious…"

Rukia looked up at him. "About?"

"Well, I just wanted to know why you live alone."

Rukia froze in her step at his sudden question.

He was a good three steps ahead of her before realizing she was not longer with him. Ichigo turned around and frowned at her. "Rukia?"

Called out of her daze, Rukia looked up to see Ichigo staring intensely at her. "Huh?"

"You okay?" he asked, turning around to face her fully, "You suddenly stopped after I asked you a question."

"Oh, right." She looked down before slowly walking again. "…I just didn't like my old house," she finally answered.

Once she passed him, Ichigo started walking with her again, but this time slowing down to keep the same pace with her. "Why? Was there a problem with you and your parents?"

Rukia shook her head. "I don't have parents. I only have one older brother…well, it's a bit more complicated then that."

"What do you mean?" he asked, can't help feeling more curious especially with the change in her demeanor.

Rukia sighed. "I actually have an older sister who pretty much raised me since I was born since my parents passed away when I was still a baby. When I was five, my sister was eighteen and gotten married. And I was later adopted into my brother-in-law's family to keep me safe from the government who kept trying to take me away from my sister."

"Damn, that sure is complicated," Ichigo frowned.

"Tell me about it," she replied. It was then that she noticed they were standing outside her door. "Wow, we're already here." She pulled out her key and unlocked the door. Before stepping in, she turned around and grinned. "I told you it wasn't too far away. You just wasted a good five minutes walking me here."

Ichigo smirked. "Whatever. Just finish your homework," he said before turning around and walking away. "And don't forget about tomorrow," he called back without turning around.

Rukia chuckled as she saw him waving over his shoulder as he disappeared down the stairs.

---

Ichigo looked around the classroom and sighed in disappointment. "Did any one of you guys even read the chapters I assigned yesterday?"

"…" was the only response he got.

A vein popped on his forehead as his muscles tensed. "Are you guys just trying to get on my nerves?"

"…Gomenasai," they all apologized together as they dropped their heads.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes as he looked at only two chapter-review homework in front of him. "This is already the end of the second week since I started teaching here and none of you guys are paying attention to what I have been teaching." He looked around to see the gloomy atmosphere except from the two students who actually turned them in. "I'll be nice and let you guys have the weekend to finish the assignment. But I will not give anything higher than an 80 percent except to Hinamori and Kuchiki," he announced as he shoved the papers into a folder.

In actuality, only Hinamori's paper was actually done and Rukia only turned in a fake report (looked like an old assignment from the previous year) to Ichigo when he went around the room to collect the homework. He only took it since he did promise to give her an extra day if she came to help him out later.

"Now then, I guess we need to push back some of the work I had prepared for today since most of you guys didn't read the book," he said as he scratched his bright hair in irritation. "I want you guys to get into a group of four and start reading. I'll write some questions on the board so answer them as you go along. In fifteen minutes we'll come back and answer them together."

In less than a second everyone quickly grabbed their books and their friends before they were left out. Rukia was soon joined by Hinamori, Matsumoto and Tatsuki by her desk.

"Well, I guess we should quickly read through this," Matsumoto sighed as she opened her book, its back looking like it's never been opened.

Rukia pulled out her own copy and opened to the right page. "I'll start then we can take turns after every few paragraphs."

The others nodded to her proposition as she started to read.

As her friends started to take their turns, Rukia noticed Ichigo walking around the class through her peripheral vision after he finished writing the questions on the board. In a few minutes he arrived next to them.

"How's it going?" he asked as he sat on the desk behind Rukia's; so technically Renji's desk, who was at a different corner with his group.

"Fine," Tatsuki groaned, "Though I'm not really liking this book."

"Don't blame me for that," Ichigo said, "Ochi-sensei started that book before she left so I had no other choice but to continue it until we finish it."

"Really? I didn't know Ochi-sensei assigned us this," Matsumoto responded in amazement as she looked at her book cover again.

"Next time, please read whatever we teachers assign you," Ichigo sighed.

Matsumoto thought about this for a moment before replying, "Depends on whose teaching."

"What's that suppose to mean?" he asked.

"Rangiku-chan only listens to 'hot' teachers," Hinamori said, air-quoting the word 'hot,' "Sadly she hasn't seen anyone in this school who fits under her category."

Matsumoto nodded her head in acknowledgement before smiling at Ichigo. "You were very close to getting listed but your scowl became your down-fall."

"I'm hurt," Ichigo replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Anyways, how far along are you guys."

"We just finished the chapter eight," Rukia informed him, "And we were getting ready to discuss the questions."

"Really?" he asked as he eyed the annoying 'perfect-student' glow that was pratically emanating off of Rukia, "Then why don't you answer the first question for me, Kuchiki?"

Rukia gave him a small glare, which nobody could see, before smiling sweetly again. "Of course, Kurosaki-sensei." She turned her head towards the black board and read the first question. "Well, I believe the protagonist in this story needs to sort out his emotions."

"How so?" he asked, curious to know how Rukia was going to deal with his questions, knowing full well she barely read the book.

"Well for starters," Rukia paused to turn fully towards Ichigo and gave him a bigger glare, "I think he's too occupied by his image that he's willing to let the antagonist walk all over him. Not to mention the fact he's using his past traumatic event as an excuse for not being able to do _anything_ good. I mean, yeah, his old girlfriend was killed in front of him, but that was over ten years ago. He should move on."

Ichigo eyebrows went up at her suggestion. "You really think that?"

"Yes," Rukia nodded.

"Well, have you considered just how horrible he's feeling?" Ichigo asked, "He doesn't want the heroine in the story to get too close to him because he's afraid she might get hurt too."

"He's just making up excuses again to push her away," Rukia quickly responded, her voice clear and serious as she continued explaining, "The protagonist is clearly in love with her but keeps denying it. But she already knows about his troubles and is still willing to accept him. If he doesn't make a move now, he'll end up losing the one good thing that has happened since ten years ago."

"…" Ichigo was quiet as he stared into Rukia's wide violet eyes. They were clear as glass and he felt like he was getting sucked into them, allowing her to probe into his mind to read even his darkest secrets. Ichigo quickly shook his head to pull himself out of the daze before pushing himself off the desk. "Well done, Kuchiki," he gently patted her shoulder before walking off.

Rukia merely watched as he stopped by another group to ask them some questions. It was weird how in the mere three seconds they were silently staring into each other's eyes, it felt like she could see everything in his mind. And it felt like he quickly pushed her away just as she was about to open a Pandora Box in his soul.

"Man, looks like I need to read this book now," Matsumoto said, pulling Rukia back to reality.

"What?" she asked as she looked back at her friends.

"This book," Matsumoto point to the book in her hands, "After your explanation I suddenly got interested in the story."

"I told you it was a good book," Hinamori pouted.

Tatsuki snickered. "Don't let her get to you, Momo. Rangiku doesn't listen to anyone when school is involved."

Rukia smiled as she settled herself properly in her seat.

After another few minutes Ichigo returned to the front of the class and got everyone's attention. He went around the room and asked several students to answer the questions on the board.

Rukia was expecting him to call on her to answer the first question but he skipped her. In fact he never called on her once! A frown appeared on her face as he ignored her completely during the remaining class time. And being a Saturday, the class ended half an hour early but her foul mood stayed with her the entire day.

And it wasn't helping to know that she had to see him again later that day.

Rukia sighed as she made her way down the well-known street after school.

Saturdays used to be one of Rukia's favorite days: she would go to Urahara's shoten after school got out and buy as much snacks as she could for the weekend, doing nothing but watching reruns of Chappy the Rabbit while in her pajamas.

However, ever since meeting a certain orange head buffoon, her life suddenly changed for the worse…or so she believed.

"Konnichwa, Kuchiki-san," Ururu greeted their regular customer as she entered the store. "Would you like me to help you pick out some snacks again today?"

Rukia looked up and nodded. "That'd be nice. Thanks Ururu," she said as she grabbed a basket and followed her throughout the store.

"Ara, if it isn't my favorite customer."

Rukia looked over to the front desk to see Urahara fanning himself behind the counter.

"How are you today?" he asked with his usual cheery voice.

"Eh, not bad," she shrugged.

"Is that so?" he questioned as he eyed her walking around his store, agreeing or disagreeing with whatever Ururu held up in front of her. _I wonder if anything 'good' will become of her day…_ Just as his thoughts ended he heard the fusuma door slide open behind him. "Why, good morning Yoruichi!" he greeted with his goofy smile.

Yoruichi groaned as she stretched her arms above her. "Please, it's already late in the afternoon. And why are you so cheery?" Urahara simply pointed his fan at the petite woman in his store and Yoruichi's lips turned into a large grin. "Oh, so she's the one, huh?"

"Who's the 'one'?" Rukia asked as she walked over to the counter with a basket full of snacks.

Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders. "No one that should concern you."

Rukia raised an eyebrow at the tanned woman before pulling out her wallet. "Whatever. Anyways, how much is it, Urahara?"

Urahara simply fanned himself as he called for Ururu to check the price.

"This will be 2000 yen," the small girl whispered.

Rukia nodded as she handed over the bill. Taking the plastic bag of snacks, she quickly went to the exit. "See you guys later," she waved back. Just before the door slid shut she saw them waving back at her although there was an obvious glint in the eyes of the two older people.

She just shook her head, forgetting the image since Yoruichi already said it didn't concern her. Rukia walked down the street she had fully memorized the past few years that she lived here, but instead of heading to her apartment, Rukia _reluctantly_ dragged her heavy steps towards Ichigo's apartment.

As soon as she arrived, she banged her fist against the door, shouting at the top of her lungs, "OI! OPEN UP THE DOOR STRAWBERRY!" She continued banging the door until it swung open.

"Will you stop that?!" Ichigo yelled to her face, "There was no need to bang so hard!" He was leaning down at her with one hand on the doorknob and the other against the doorframe.

Rukia smirked. "That's what you get for ruining my weekend," she said before bending down and walking into his apartment under his arm.

Ichigo groaned as he shut the door after him. He watched as Rukia placed her school bag and plastic bag of snacks on his table. He then noticed she was wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Don't you look comfortable."

"I changed clothes while at school," Rukia replied without looking back at him, "I knew if I went home to change I'll never leave the place."

"Well aren't you the smart one," Ichigo patted her head which earned him a sharp glare.

"Just tell me what I have to do so I can quickly leave," she slapped his arm away.

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he led her to his guest room. "The past few weeks I've been using this place for storage. But my little sister was outraged saying there had to be a guest room so it can be used if someone comes over or if my family visits." He opened the door across from his room and nodded towards it.

Rukia peeked in and groaned. There were boxes and stuffed bags everywhere with several other items placed here and there. "I guess this is your method of 'throwing away garbage.'"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he entered the room. "Whatever. Just help me go through all this shit so I know what to keep and what to throw away." He rolled up his sleeves and checked his watch. "There's two hours left before the delivery men come. So let's get to business."

Rukia nodded. But before going back to work, she popped a candy into her mouth that she just bought and entered the room. If she was going to help clean up this messy room then she's going to need all the sugar she can get.

For the next few hours the two went through every box in the room. When the delivery came, they left it in the living room until they could make enough space in the room to put it in there.

Rukia opened a box and coughed at the dust. "Why do you have so many books?"

"I'm a fucking literature teacher, what do you expect?" Ichigo said as he placed the last set of shelves in the new bookshelf. "Give 'em here," he held out a hand as Rukia gave him a few books and he quickly started to organize some books on the shelves.

"So is that book we read today one of your favorites?" she asked him.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "I never really liked nor disliked it. The protagonist had way too many problems for me."

"But why didn't you call on me in class to answer the question?"

Ichigo paused in his work to frown Rukia. "Why? Did it bother you that I didn't ask you anything? Is that why you're so pissed?"

Rukia merely pouted as she continued organizing the books.

"I didn't ask you since I already knew your answer, if that's what you wanted to know," Ichigo said.

"It's not just that," she sighed, "It just seemed like you weren't satisfied with my answer. And I was pretty proud of my analysis of the protagonist."

"You should be," he told her as he started to stack some more books, "I just didn't want others to copy your idea for the test later on. They should figure those kinds of things out by themselves."

Rukia stopped to stare at Ichigo for a moment. "So you were trying to help me?"

"Kinda," he replied.

Rukia smirked. "Well aren't you sweet."

"Psch, I only did it because I knew you'd kick me if I didn't do anything," Ichigo scoffed.

Rukia laughed as she also placed some books in the bookshelf. She opened up a new box and continued organizing everything.

"Hey," Ichigo suddenly broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

Ichigo looked at her for a second before opening another box himself. "I was just wondering if you really meant what you said about the protagonist."

"About what?"

"Well, about how the character should let go of the past and open his heart out to the heroine."

Rukia looked up from her work to see Ichigo staring at her. She thought for a second before nodding her head. "Yes, I do."

"Why do you think that?" he quickly asked.

A thin brow went up. "What's up with all these questions?"

"Just answer," he ordered her.

Rukia sighed as she continued on with her task, but answered his question nonetheless. "Like I said, the protagonist is too afraid to open his heart because he's afraid he's going to hurt her. But what he doesn't get is that if he doesn't act fast, then the one thing that was pulling him out of his dark past will also disappear. In the end he'll end up more miserable than ever. I think he's too busy thinking about what _might_ happen that it's blocking him from making any advances in his life. It's about time he closes the book of his previous life, and start a new one with a happier ending."

Ichigo remained quiet as he watched Rukia silently putting away another stack of books. No word was passed between them for awhile as silence engulfed them. By the end of four huge empty boxes, the ten big shelves were stocked with books, most of them being Shakespeare work.

"You must really like books," Rukia scoffed, looking at his book collection almost in disgust.

"Yeah," he smirked at her reaction, "And I have twice as much back at my old man's place in Tokyo."

Rukia looked at him with disbelief. "Do you even read all these?"

"Of course," he replied as he folded an empty box flat on the ground, "My mother used to collect the best books from all around the world since she was young. I'm just continuing her hobby."

Rukia paused from what she was doing to look at Ichigo. "'Used to?' Why are you using past tense?"

Ichigo visibly stiffened. "Nevermind, just ignore it."

But being extremely stubborn, Rukia walked over and yanked on his arm. "Ichigo, every time the topic of your mother comes up you don't say anything. What's wrong?"

Ichigo turned away to avoid eye contact.

Rukia gulped. "Is your mother—"

"Yeah," Ichigo cut in, finally looking at her, "She's dead."

Rukia dropped her hand and looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Nah," Ichigo sighed, scratching the back of his head, "It's been several years so don't worry too much about it." He turned around and went back to work.

Rukia watched him for a second before going back to the box she was looking through.

An uncomfortable silence engulfed them this time for a few seconds before Ichigo spoke up again. "I was nine."

Rukia's head jerked up. "Huh?"

"I was nine back then. My mom was picking me up from the dojo I used to go to, and we were on our way home," he continued, looking through some papers he just pulled out from a box, "It suddenly started to rain really hard. We were walking across the street when a car lost control. I couldn't remember what happened the next few minutes. But when I finally came to, my mom was on top of me, bloody and dead." He paused as his grip on an old picture frame tightened. He sat down in front of the box and hid his eyes under his bangs.

Watching him going into a state of sudden depression, Rukia walked over and kneeled in front of him. She didn't know why she did it but she just felt like it was the right thing to do. She wrapped her arms around his head and held him close to her chests, running her fingers through his orange hair to calm him as his body started to tremble.

Ichigo didn't know when he started to cry. But tears were silently dropping from his eyes as his body trembled from the past memories. After taking some deep breaths to clear out his voice, he continued, though his shoulders didn't stop shaking. "I was taken to a hospital where I barely did anything for a month. They had to force-feed me through a tube and drug me to sleep since I'd be hysteric every time I was awake." He lifted his arms and circled them around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. "Ever since then I've never been the same…I loved my mother so much."

Rukia kept her own tears at bay as she buried her nose into his hair. "I'm sorry," she whispered, the only thing she could think of saying at the time.

For some reason, she thought about the book and what she said about the protagonist. Maybe Ichigo just needed someone to tell him to let go.

Maybe he needed someone to help him move on.

…_Maybe that somebody was her…_

The two stayed in that position, silently, until the sun finally set over the horizon. Boxes were left open and untouched for several hours with the new furniture, which consisted of a new bed and a desk, which was half assembled in one corner of the room. Several other boxes were left in the living room. Neither of the two touched them for awhile.

"Ichigo?"

The orange head, who had been standing in front of his family picture in the living room, turned around to see Rukia looking at him. "Yeah?"

She smiled, directing her head to the table. "Dinner's ready."

Ichigo nodded as he made his way to the table. He took a seat and looked at the food in front of him. "You sure you didn't put anything funky in this?"

Rukia smacked him with a spoon. "If you're going to complain then don't eat."

Ichigo chuckled. "Itadekimasu," he said before picking up his chopstick and eating the first meal she's prepared for him. He slowly chewed on the food in his mouth, deeply concentrating at what he was eating.

Rukia watched with wide eyes, not touching her food, waiting for some sort of reply.

Taking a sip of the miso soup, Ichigo looked up to see Rukia staring at him, waiting. He smirked. "The soup is a bit salty."

Her head immediately hung low.

"But overall it's not bad," he continued, earning him a shocked look when Rukia suddenly looked up at him again, "I wouldn't mind you cooking for me from now on."

"Psch, like I would," she scoffed.

Ichigo smirked as he continued eating.

Rukia sighed as she turned around to look at the mess. "When do you think we'll be able to finish all of this?"

"Don't know. But you can leave after dinner," he said, "I can finish up the rest so don't worry about it."

She looked back at him and frowned. "You sure?"

"Yeah," he nodded as he continued eating, "I think I can do it. Besides…, I think you already helped me out a lot more than you think."

Rukia nodded, knowing he was referring to what happen a few hours ago. The two held each other until Ichigo finally calmed down. She just told him that she'll make dinner in order to avoid the sudden awkwardness between them. After a few minutes, he finally came out but stood in front of his family photo while she made dinner.

_Ring Ring Ring!_

Ichigo stood up from his meal and walked over to the phone. "Moshi-moshi?" he answered. He paused as he listened to the other person on the other line. "No…Why should I—what do you mean by that?!" his face suddenly became red, obviously panicking, "No, that's not what I meant—wait a second, but why? Where? Hey!" Ichigo's eyes widened as he held the phone away from his ears.

"What is it?" Rukia asked as he slammed the phone back down on the receiver. He looked up and quickly grabbed her plates. "Hey! I'm not done."

"Sorry but you have to get out of here," he answered, dumping her remaining food into the garbage before putting the dishes into the sink, "Ishida and Chad are just outside."

"What?!" She jumped up and helped him clean up any traces of there being a second person having dinner with him. "Why are they coming here?"

"I don't know," he groaned as he went to the living room to grab her school bag and her bag of snacks, "But they suddenly called, saying they were coming over."

Rukia grabbed her bags and ran to the genkan. She stuffed her feet into her shoes as Ichigo opened the door. She stepped out and gasped. He was about to ask what was wrong when he suddenly heard voices coming from down the hall.

_FUCK!_ They both cursed in their head.

Without thinking, Rukia quickly snuck out and hid behind the open door.

When Ichigo saw Rukia going out, he was about to grab her when she suddenly went behind the door and out of sight.

"Kurosaki?"

Ichigo looked up to see Uryuu and Chad right in front of him. "H-hey, you guys are really here…"

"Yeah…but how did you know to open the door just now?" Uryuu pushed up his glasses.

"Uh," Ichigo started to sweat at his words, "W-well, um…it's not hard to tell since you talk really loud."

Uryuu rolled his eyes as he pushed past his friend. Ichigo looked up to see Chad just nod his head before following inside. He released a breath and quickly closed the door, knowing Rukia was still waiting behind it.

Once the door slammed shut, Rukia took off down the hall and down the stairs. There was no way she was going to wait to see what might happen if one of her teachers suddenly decide to come out. She ran across the parking lot and towards her apartment building.

Only when she closed the door behind her did Rukia finally feel safe. She let out a long breath, leaning against the door and wiping off her sweat. "I should really be more careful," she said to herself before something struck her. "Wait a sec… It's not _me_ who should be careful but that damn strawberry," she groaned, pushing herself off the door.

Rukia let out a tired sigh as she dropped her bags on the floor and made her way to her bedroom. Getting a pair of clean clothes and a towel, Rukia went to her bathroom for a cool shower. It was then she felt her tense muscles relax.

By the time she came out, she walked back into the living room and dropped into her couch, still towel-drying her hair. She looked at her school bag and rolled her eyes; she did not want to do her homework yet. She then looked at the bag of treats and groaned; she suddenly didn't want to eat anything sweet after eating a real meal less than an hour ago.

Rukia sighed as she turned on the T.V. and watched whatever was on. The house was silent…and kind of lonely. Even watching Chappy was a bit boring.

OMG! Did she just think that?!

Just as the third rerun of an old Chappy movie started, her doorbell rang. "Who is it?" she called out as she made her way to the door. She swung open the door to see a tall man in front of her. "Ichigo?"

The orange head smirked before lifting a bag. "I kinda felt bad about throwing away your dinner like that so I decided to bring over some food the guys brought over."

Rukia grabbed the bag he handed over. "Thanks. Did Ishida-sensei and Yasutora-sensei leave?" she asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "They passed out on my couch. Apparently they were exhausted from work and came to my place to just eat and sleep."

"I guess teachers do suffer from the work they assign us," she chuckled. "Anyways, thanks for the food."

"No problem," Ichigo replied, taking a step back to leave.

"Ja ne." Rukia reached over to the door handle and was about to shut the door when he suddenly grabbed it, stopping it halfway with his strong grip.

"Oi."

"Yeah?" she looked up into his amber eyes when suddenly she saw him leaning forward. And that's when she felt it.

A light kiss.

Her eyes widened as she felt his lips brushing against her cheek.

"Thanks again… for tonight," Ichigo whispered next to her ear before walking away, not turning back to see the red hue on Rukia's face.

Her fingers lightly touched the spot where his warm lips were a few seconds ago. The more she thought about it the warmer her face became. "Dumbass," she whispered into the night air before closing the door.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I don't know why but I kinda wanted to add a bit of a fluff here, with Ichigo's sudden confession and his sudden kiss. I pretty much dedicated this chapter to reveal more about themselves and some background info. And things are going to get even more interesting from here on out so keep an eye out!

I hope to upload the next chapter soon, an apologize for not doing anything last week. Please review if you want to read the next chapter fast!

Random FYI: the book that I kept writing about in the middle of the chapter is total B.S. I couldn't think of a good book that's similar to Ichigo's life so I made it up. Next time I'll see if I can use a really story.


	6. 06 Roommates

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's the quick chapter I promised you previously. It's not as long as the other chapter but it's not that bad. Again, thanks for all the reviews. I'm sorry if some parts of the story were not up to some of your tastes.... the fifth chapter was just a necessary filler. Hopefully this chapter is better for you guys! It just makes this story even spicier!  
**

**In this chapter, something happens that makes their forbidden relationship even more forbidden!!!!!!!! Read and find out what happens! (though the title of the chapter should be a dead give-away). Also, I decided to add in another romance story in the middle. You guys will be able to tell when you come to it. My friend thought it be cute to add this semi-side story. Hope you like it...though it does stand out a bit awkward. Please don't be bothered by it; I just didn't know how else to do it :(  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 6: Roommates

* * *

"What's up with you?"

Rukia looked up from her slouched position on top of her desk to see Matsumoto leaning down at her. "Huh?" was her only response.

"Honey, are you sick?" Matsumoto asked as she placed a hand over Rukia's forehead.

The petite woman frowned, swapping her friend's hand away. "No, I'm just tired."

Suddenly, Matsumoto's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Why? Did a sexy hunk keep you up all night?"

The image of Ichigo's warm lips on her cheeks suddenly smacked her against the head. "NO!" Rukia shouted a bit too loudly and couldn't stop a blush from slowly appearing across her cheeks.

"Eh, then why are you blushing?" Matsumoto snickered.

"It's because—there's nothing—Shut up!"

"What are you two blabbering about so early in the morning?"

Rukia silently thanked God when Tatsuki suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Rukia stayed up all night because of a guy," Matsumoto quickly replied with a grin.

"WHAT?!"

Rukia silently cursed God when Renji came in, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" he yelled so loudly that Matsumoto's hair flew back from the intensity. The red head's glare suddenly turned to his oldest friend before he grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her in midair. "Rukia! What is this about a man keeping you up?! What the fuck have you been doing this weekend?!"

Tatsuki came over and patted Renji's head. "Geez, calm down Abarai; it's not like she dating you or something." The tomboy then looked at Rukia, who was still being shaken, and grinned. "But I wouldn't mind knowing more about this mysterious dude."

A clear vein was popping on Rukia's forehead. "There is NO GUY!" she shouted as she kicked Renji in the shin. He doubled over in pain, finally releasing his strong grip on her shoulders. Once she got back her footing, Rukia straightened her clothes before sitting back down. "Rangiku was just joking."

"WHAT?!" Renji jumped up to his feet, this time turning his glare at the strawberry-blonde head.

"Geez, Rangiku, you sounded really convincing there for a sec," Tatsuki smirked.

Matsumoto grinned. "Thanks. I'm thinking about trying out for the drama club soon."

_Ding Ding Ding!_

"Alright you guys, sit back down!" Ichigo yelled as he came through the door once the bell rung. He stepped into the classroom, closing the door behind him, and made his way to the podium.

Like any morning he started off with attendance. A name was called and that student was expected to say 'hai.'

That's the easy part. Anybody with a sensible brain could do it.

But Rukia was having a hard time trying to keep her voice from cracking up when Ichigo called her name.

"Kuchiki Rukia?"

"H-hai…" she answered.

Hearing her stutter, Ichigo looked up for a second but immediately looked back down at his attendance sheet after his amber eyes made contact with a pair of violets. Thankfully their little interaction went unnoticed as class continued.

"Okay class, today we're starting a new book," Ichigo announced as he placed the attendance sheet aside and grabbed his book, "Today, like all the other times, we'll start by reading the first chapter together—"

"Oi, Ichigo!" Tatsuki suddenly interrupted.

Ichigo let out a frustrated groan. "Arisawa, I thought I told you to address me formally during school hours."

"Psch, as if you care for formalities," she scoffed . "I just wanted to remind you about that thing you told me about last weekend at your place."

There was a sudden gasp throughout the class.

"What about it?" Ichigo groaned.

Yet again, another unified gasp, but this time whispers were being passed around as well.

A student? At a teacher's place? On a weekend?

Don't you just love high school gossip?....

But Rukia wasn't thinking about _just_ that. Her body suddenly went rigid when she thought about what happened that weekend.

Clearly _she_ was the one at his place on Saturday until late at night. Then Ishida and Yasutora appeared, making clear that they were going to spend the night over at Ichigo's apartment. So when did Tatsuki go over there? On Sunday? But Ichigo barely stays home on Sundays… _Why the hell does she know this and why does this even matter?!_

But she still couldn't get rid of the weird tightening in her chest.

"Well?" Tatsuki frowned, "Are you going to bring it up?"

Ichigo sighed, scratching the back of his head, which Rukia noticed was a habit of his when he was either embarrassed or annoyed by something. She was silently hoping it was the latter.

"Fine," he nodded before clearing his throat. "Anyways, before you guys start taking Arisawa's information to a whole new _untrue_ level of gossip, I would like to announce early about the festival that will take placed during this fall." (*A/N)

A huge cheer exploded from the students.

Ichigo waited until the screams subsided to continue his announcement. "From what Ishida-sensei told me, this year you guys will be responsible to recruit as many new students for next year before you graduate. So start thinking of a theme, and no—" he glared at Keigo who was about to jump up, "—I won't tolerate to see this place being turned into some pornography theater or anything else that's related to it." He immediately got a groan of defeat from the young man in the back of the room. Ichigo rolled his eyes before looking at Rukia. "And Kuchiki?"

Rukia jerked to attention when he suddenly called her name. "Yes?"

"Come to my office during lunch so I can give you further information. After all, you are the class rep. so you should know all the information." He turned back to the rest of the class while pointing at Rukia, "She'll have all the information from now on so please go to her if you need to know anything; don't bother me."

"Okay!" They all answered with big grins.

"Good, now let's get back to the book," he said, opening up to the first chapter.

Rukia was quiet during the entire time the class read along with Ichigo the new book. Time quickly passed without her being aware of what was happening around her. For some reason she felt like something was bothering her, deep in her chest.

"Oi."

Maybe she was just tried or something. After all, she had to stay up most of the night finishing up her homework.

"Oi! Why are you ignoring me?!"

Or could it have something to do with what she ate this morning? Even though Ichigo taught her how to cook, she still ate nothing but junk food because she didn't have enough ingredients at home.

"OI!"

Maybe she should get a check up—

"RUKIA!"

"WHAT?!" Rukia snapped back. It was then she realized where she was.

It was already lunch period and she was in Ichigo's office, with the man himself glaring at her with great intensity. "I've been talking to you for the last few minutes but you've been ignoring what I've been saying!"

Rukia blinked before shaking her head to get rid of whatever daze she was just in. "Sorry but I got a lot of things on my mind."

"Well you better start paying attention." Ichigo shook his head in disappointment as he went through a stack of papers. "Anyways, I'll give you the information about the festival so make sure to—"

"When did she come over?"

Ichigo stopped in the middle of his search before turning around to stare at Rukia who cut in the middle of his sentence. "Huh?"

"Tatsuki," she continued, "When did she come over to your place?"

Ichigo stared at her before smirking. "Why? Jealous?"

His questions suddenly threw her off. Rukia quickly retorted by crossing her arms across her chest and glaring off to the side. "Psch, as if."

Ichigo chuckled as he returned to the papers. "I met her while working out at the gym I go to on Sundays. She was with her dad who used to teach me karate when I was a kid. So they both came over to my place and that's when she brought up the topic of the festival."

"Oh," was all she could say as a reply, suddenly feeling stupid for feeling bothered by it.

"So you can go tell your classmates not to start any stupid rumors," he added, "I hated them when I was a student and I hate it even more now."

Rukia nodded her head as she grabbed his chair and sat down on it. "So what did you want to tell me about the festival?"

"Just a second, I know I left it here somewhere…"

Rukia sighed. "You're clean at home so why can't you keep things organized here?"

"Shut up," he groaned, "I just have way too many papers here."

That's when Rukia peeked over his shoulders to see exactly what kind of paper he had on his desk. "Are those the ones I graded?"

"Yeah, and some more shit," he said before looking at her with a grin "By the way, you are coming over tonight, right?"

An eyebrow slowly rose up as Rukia tried to scoot back with the chair. That grin was really annoying her. What the hell does he have planned behind it? "Maybe…?"

But Ichigo leaned forward, dangerously close to Rukia's face. "Because tonight things just might get ugly."

"What are you talking about?"

He pointed to a large stack just behind him. "We need to grade _that_."

"WHAT?!" she jumped up and ran over to the huge stack. "Why the hell are there so many papers this time? This stack is more than what we've been doing so far…times five!"

Ichigo chuckled. "It is. Two of my other classes had some stupid dumbasses that wouldn't do anything I tell them to do so I decided to assign the entire class a report on one of Japanese most famous poems."

"Eugh," Rukia groaned as she continued to scan the stack. "This is going to take forever."

"Not if you stay up all night," Ichigo teased. She turned around and glared before stomping on his feet. "OW! What the fuck?!"

"That's what you get for assigning something as stupid as that. Why do something you're going to regret?" she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her again.

Ichigo glared. "Sorry but that's what teacher's have to do in this day-and-age." He sighed as he finally located what he's been searching for. "Here"

Rukia took the paper from his grasp and scanned it. "Okay, I'll talk this over with the class before I go to the student council meeting." Rukia folded the paper and placed it in her pocket. "So I'll see you tonight?" she sighed in defeat.

Ichigo nodded again. "Yeah. See you later." Rukia quickly left Ichigo's office to join her friends for the remaining few minutes of lunch.

The rest of the day went well…better than expected.

Rukia was able to turn in all of her homework, even though she spent most of the weekend slacking off. She got praises left and right from her teachers. Heck, even Hitsugaya-sensei was nice to her.

In fact, when she got back her first calculus pop quiz she got her very first 100 percent in his class!

Rukia nearly jumped out of her seat when she got back her quiz.

"Psst. Oi, Rukia!"

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"What you get?" Renji whispered, "I didn't get mine back yet."

Rukia proudly displayed her paper, earning her a groan from her childhood friend. She smiled proudly. Maybe she should make Ichigo dinner again this weekend? After all, he did help a lot. He actually stayed with her for hours-on-end, teaching her and giving her short cuts to solving the difficult calculus problems.

But that wasn't important at the moment. Rukia just couldn't help giggling the more she looked at the red '100 percent' that was circled with a red marker. She didn't even care when she heard Renji groaning in defeat behind her.

"I'm pretty disappointed by your overall grade on the quiz," Hitsugaya said as he returned to the front of the room. "There was only one student who got a full 100 percent." He paused to look at Rukia and raised an eyebrow when he noticed she was still smiling at her paper, "And it was the most unexpected person at that."

He turned around and wrote '55 percent' on the blackboard. "This is the class average," he announced, earning him a collective groan. "And this is the lowest and highest grades." He wrote down (Rukia's) 100 percent and a 3 percent right below it.

"Phew. And I thought I was fucking bad," Renji snickered, looking at the red '15 percent' on his own paper.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Abarai?" Hitsugaya glared at the red head.

Renji tensed and shook his head. "N-n-no sir. I'm just glad I didn't get _that_ low of a score," he stuttered, suddenly feeling like the room got a lot colder with the teacher's fierce glare. How could he forget that that child-genius teacher of theirs was fucking strict; heck, nobody would be surprised to find a six-foot pole up his ass because of how serious the man was.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Choose your words more carefully next time; I don't think Asano wants to be further embarrassed in class."

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL EVERYONE THAT IT'S ME!" Keigo shouted from the back of the room.

"Please, I'm sure everyone already knew it was you," Renji snickered back at him.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Anyways, it's already the second month of school and you guys learned absolutely nothing. Looks like I'll have to assign you more homework."

Again, a loud collective groan filled the class.

"Momo! Do something!" Matsumoto cried to her friend.

Hinamori blushed at what her friend. "W-what are you talking about Rangiku-chan?!"

"That's right!" Keigo joined in, "The entire school knows you and Hitsugaya-sensei are engaged because your grandparents arranged it years ago, or something like that." Hinamori's blush reddened even more as the class pervert continued, "So why don't you help out your classmates and persuade that fiancé of yours to lighten up the load. I'm sure a kiss would suffice—"

"Enough," Hitsugaya groaned, "My private life has nothing to do with you group of idiots so don't bring her into this."

"Awww," Matsumoto cooed, "I can't believe you're protecting her!"

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya shouted as his face started to turn red, though from embarrassment or anger nobody was really sure.

The strawberry-blonde just smirked. "No need to be so shy, sensei. We all know how you might act cold to Momo but deep down you really care about her. Heck, I saw you protecting her from a group of boys last year when they tried to hit on her. I thought it was really noble of you to take that punch for her."

"AWWW!" most of the females sighed, hearts in their eyes.

"EUGH!" most of the males groaned.

Hinamori, no longer able to keep her head up, lowered it and slumped down into her seat, hoping to hide herself from her classmates.

Hitsugaya quickly turned around to hide his blush. "Ahem. Let's just start class."

Rukia smirked.

At first she hated this class but now she loved it. Not only was she able to follow what Hitsugaya was teaching in class, but it was cute to see him blush whenever someone—mostly Matsumoto—brought up the topic of his engagement to Hinamori.

Apparently their families knew each other from generations back. And they've been arranged to be married since they were little. If it were someone else, they might not have liked this arrangement; but the two have been seeing each other since their infancy and soon a special relationship exploded between them.

They were really in love.

It still seemed odd to know that one of her friends was not only in love but also engaged. Rukia and Hinamori known each other since middle school but it hadn't been until last year that she, along with everyone else, found out that the two were engaged. And at such a young age too. Luckily the school already knew about their relationship and allowed it in school because of their circumstances, as in not really having had any say in their engagement…not that they really had any.

_I wonder what that feels like…_ she thought to herself while taking notes from the board.

"I expect you guys to do better next time," Hitsugaya said while preparing to leave class.

"Yes," the class replied in a defeated tone.

He rolled his eyes at the lack of response. "There will be another test in two weeks." He waited for the groans to subside again before continuing, "Most of you guys will need an 80 percent or higher to do well in this class…And don't even think about bothering Momo about the test," he said and quickly left the class as the bell rung, leaving the classroom as the girls squealed and the guys hooted.

"Oi, Toushiro," Ichigo called out.

Hitsugaya stopped in his step and turned around. "Kurosaki," he greeted with a nod.

Ichigo walked over but stopped before saying anything. He looked over to the class that Hitsugaya just came out of which was still loud. He smirked before looking back at his friend. "What did you do now to embarrass that little fiancé of yours?"

The younger man snorted as they made their way down towards their offices. "I just told them to not bother her about an upcoming test."

Ichigo chuckled. "You really have an odd way of showing your love."

"…Shut up," Hitsugaya snarled as he turned right to the main staff room.

Ichigo smirked as he continued down the hall to his own private office.

To be in love…_I wonder what that's like,_ he thought.

---

Rukia skipped down the street as she turned the corner and slid open the door. "Hello!"

"Irashaimase!" Urahara greeted. He was standing by the door and when he noticed Rukia's cheery mode, he couldn't help but hop around with her. "Did something good happen, Kuchiki-san? You're here when it's not even Friday!"

Rukia nodded as she hopped around the store, going on her usual snack escapade. "Yup! I just passed my calculus quiz with a 100 percent."

"REALLY?!" Urahara, who's been following her the entire time, suddenly threw confetti into the air. "Congratulations! We should celebrate."

"Just give me a discount and I'll say that'd be good enough," she grinned.

Urahara suddenly stopped hopping and started to pout. "But then how am I suppose make a living?"

Rukia merely shrugged her shoulders as she brought everything over to the register. "So, how about 50 percent?"

Urahara nearly fell over at the sudden proposal. "Kuchiki-san," he nervously chuckled and looked at the content in her hands, "That would mean you would only pay 1000 yen."

"Exactly," she smirked.

Urahara was about to retort but Yorucihi appeared out of nowhere and smacked him over the head. "Just let it go for today; she did pass her test."

"Thank you," Rukia smiled at the tan woman.

Few minutes later Rukia was out of the store with a bag full of sweets to last her several days. Of course she was going to go over to Ichigo's place later to get some real food, but who said it's bad to sedate a woman's sugar craving?

Definitely not her.

Rukia hummed a small tune as she walked towards her apartment. The sun was already starting to set and she was ready to just fall into her bed and sleep. But there's no way she can sleep, especially since Ichigo would most likely drag her back to his apartment for work.

She scoffed when she remembered what she had to grade later.

Rukia neared her apartment with a scowl when she saw something off. She stopped and looked around her.

Nothing seemed wrong. But that was the problem: it felt eerily quiet. Suddenly, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She looked up only to see a shadowy figure suddenly emerge from what appeared to be her apartment. Her breathing quickened as did her heartbeat.

She was getting robbed…IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!?

Her eyes widened as the person ran down the stairs and out into the streets, his arms and pockets full of many items.

She should have followed him; Rukia knew she should have gone after that bastard and stop him. But her brain wasn't functioning correctly. Instead, she looked up to her apartment where the door was still wide open.

Without thinking twice, Rukia quickly ran towards her apartment building and up the stairs. When she reached her floor, she noticed that that person indeed came out from her place. With her shaky legs, Rukia made her way to her apartment and looked inside.

Rukia gasped, dropping everything that she was holding as she looked around her home.

Everything was in ruins.

The couch was ripped up, it's cotton spewing out; the TV screen was shattered; tables and chairs were upturned and broken; several of her dishes were broken on the ground; her mattress were flipped over; her clothes all over the floor; the drawers opened and some upturned; and many of her jewelries and hidden money were gone.

Nothing about her apartment felt homey anymore.

Rukia didn't know what to do or how to react. She couldn't scream as her throat closed up from the shock. Her body wouldn't move from where she was standing. Her mind couldn't fully register what was happening.

Everything was just so fucked up!

In the end, the moment she got some feeling back in her legs, Rukia ran out of her apartment and quickly made her way to the building in front of hers.

---

Ichigo whistled a small tune as he walked up the stairs of his apartment building. Today started out nice. His classes went smoothly: everyone turned in their homework and even Keigo kept his stupid comment to himself. Not to mention Uryuu lost a bet with him so he has to buy him some drinks that weekend.

Oh yeah, today was a good day—

Ichigo's thought suddenly stopped when he noticed a familiar figure sitting in front of his door, her knees up to her chest and her head resting on top of them.

"Rukia?" he approached her.

As soon as she heard her name, Rukia looked up to see Ichigo standing in front of her.

Ichigo was shocked when he noticed her tear-stained face. Then it was even more unexpected when she suddenly jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face against his chest.

He didn't know how to react at first. Was this really Kuchiki Rukia or some imposter? But then he slowly relaxed and held her tightly against him. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked in the most soothing voice he could muster.

Rukia's shoulders jerked up as she hiccupped. "Ichi—huck—go," she whimpered, "I don't know—eugh—what to do."

Ichigo rubbed her back up and down to calm her breathing. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"Ichigo," she breathed out, "Some—somebody broke into my apartment—"

Ichigo quickly grabbed her arms and pushed her off him to look straight at her face. "What?!"

Rukia's lower lip trembled as fresh tears started to flow out. This was the first time he saw Rukia in such a vulnerable state. In fact, this wasn't the Rukia he knew the last three weeks. No matter how tough the situation was, she's the type to push through them and come out with that cocky grin of hers. But seeing her like this…

It was nerve-wracking.

Ichigo forced his tense body to calm down before he opened his apartment door behind them and he lifted her into his arms, his arms under her bent knees and shoulders. Rukia watched him under hooded eyes as Ichigo brought her inside, passed the living room, passed the kitchen, and into his bedroom. He carefully set her down and kneeled in front of her.

"I'll go over to your place and call the cops. Just stay here and rest, okay?" he said, brushing away some of her midnight hair from her face.

Rukia slowly nodded her head before lying down on Ichigo's bed. He silently covered her with his blanket before quickly leaving. He closed his bedroom door and made his way outside. As he closed the door, he double-checked to make sure the door was locked before running off to Rukia's apartment.

He arrived at the front door, which was left wide open, and stepped in. If he had anything in his hands he would have dropped everything from shock.

The entire apartment was turned inside-out.

He carefully walked inside, making sure not to step on anything or move anything in case there's something the cops could use.

Speaking of cops…

Ichigo pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number. "Hello? I'd like to report a robbery…"

The next hour was a blur to Ichigo. The cops arrived within five minutes and quickly inspected Rukia's apartment. It seemed most of her jewelry and small stack of money that she had hidden in her drawer were mainly stolen. Some small items were also gone while the rest were destroyed. Nothing was found that might pass off as evidence against the criminal so the cops left, leaving with only a promise to look for the thief.

Ichigo sighed as he looked around the remains of the apartment.

It was still a complete mess after the investigation.

He shook off his jacket, tossing it to the side, and rolled up his sleeves. He grabbed a large garbage bag and started to stuff it with the debris of glass and wood. He cleaned up as much as he could of the living room and the kitchen, though there was absolutely nothing left that could make the place look homely again.

He sighed as he sat down on a torn-up couch cushion, looking around the apartment.

There's no way Rukia would want to live here now, not after all this happen…Not to mention how he won't let her live alone if he had a say in it too.

_Why?_

Ichigo cursed at his inner thoughts and ignored the single-word question. They only brought unnecessary thoughts into his head.

After getting rid of the remaining kinks in his back and arms, Ichigo jumped back to his feet to start cleaning again. He grabbed a new bag and went to her bedroom. He reached down and examined the clothes on the floor. Those that looked decent he stuffed them into a bag while the others were tossed to a corner.

Dresses, pants, shirts, blouses, school uniforms…bras…ahem, panties…skirts, socks, etc were collected into the bag.

After another few hours Ichigo had the apartment almost all cleaned up. Things that could still be used were placed by the door while the others were neatly placed at certain corners of the apartment.

"Finally," Ichigo stretched his arms over his head before lifting a few bags over his shoulders. The sun was starting to rise as he quickly made his way back to his apartment.

When he finally reached there, he wasn't shocked to see Rukia still sleeping in his bed. He set down the bags in the guest room before going back to her. "Rukia," he whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "Oi, wake up midget."

Rukia groaned as she turned over to the other side. "Leave me alone."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Stupid midget. Don't tell me you already forgot what happened last night."

"What happened?" she moaned, still half asleep.

Ichigo leaned down and whispered, "The robbery."

Rukia immediately sat up, barely missing Ichigo's head. "Oh shit, what happened?" she looked at him with wide eyes, "Did anything happen while I was out?"

Ichigo nodded. "I called the police while you were asleep. They looked around the apartment and only items that possessed some value seemed to be missing. They said they would look out for the bastard, but I'm not sure what's going to happen."

"Oh," Rukia looked down at her hands that were tightly holding the blanket that was half on her.

Noticing this Ichigo placed his warm hand over hers and gently stroked it. "Don't worry too much about it; at least you didn't get hurt."

Rukia nodded her head. "Yeah…" she whispered. After a moment of silence she took in a deep breath before looking back up. "Well, I guess I should go over and clean out the place."

"There's no need, I already did it," Ichigo smirked.

Rukia blinked at him. "What?"

"If you haven't noticed, it's already six in the morning. I spent the entire time cleaning out your place and bringing back the remaining decent things over here."

"What do you mean?"

Ichigo pointed at the open doorway with his thumb. "I already called the landlord; after today you're officially living here with me."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

A/N: okay, the ending was NOT to my taste. I was rushed and I didn't know how to make it work better. Man, I must be getting tired. Not to mention with my finals coming up in a few weeks that I'm not writing as much as I used to.

This mean I might push off another week of no update until my finals are done. Just one week guys, that's all I really ask. And when I come back, hopefully I can write something longer and even more fluffier. That would make my day!

Please review and make me happy!!!! no flames though....^^;

*FYI: the festival I discussed about in the middle of this chapter actually happens for high schools in Japan. It takes place usually during the fall or winter and it's to recruit new students (in other words, third year middle schoollers). Classes pick themes and sometimes the class with the most popularity wins a prize. A lot of this is held by third year students but first year and second year classes do involve themselves as well.


	7. 07 Shut Up!

**Author's Note: Hey guys! THANK YOU for all the supportive reviews!!! I was glad to read all of them. I'm still a bit busy but I just wanted to upload this now before I pushed it off any further.  
**

**This isn't my best chapter. As I said, I'm still in the middle of my finals so I couldn't get everything down here. But it's not that bad so enjoy!! Ichigo and Rukia are now just trying to survive living together. It's just a lot of fluff before the excitement beings!**

**Please read and review! And hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon!**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 7: Shut Up!

* * *

Rukia groaned as she entered Ichigo's apartment.

Correction:

_Their_ apartment.

She still couldn't believe they were now living together. Ever since the sudden burglary at her old apartment last week, she's been living with Ichigo in his guestroom… which reminded her to thank his younger sister one day for adding a bed and a table in there.

Of course _that_ will never happen since nobody is suppose to know that she was living with him.

But that wasn't what was bothering them the most.

It's been only a week and they were already going at each other's throats.

They could BARELY stand each other when they first met and now that they were living together, there was never a moment of peace in the house. From something small as misplacing the phone, to something big like the issue on whether she was or wasn't allowed to put up her Chappy poster.

Oh yeah, that was some day…

"_It's my apartment so I say 'NO'!" Ichigo yelled._

"_I'm paying half the rent so I say 'YES'!" She yelled back at his face._

_The two had their foreheads touching…more like pushing, each other as they yelled at the top of their lungs._

"_It's my room," she reasoned, "So I can put up whatever the hell I want!"_

"_I don't care! I don't want that piece of shit hanging around my apartment!"_

In the end of course Rukia won but only after delivering several hard kicks to Ichigo's shin. She grinned at the thought. Most of their fights she won only because she could hit him. Thankfully he was a man who didn't know how to hit a girl back, but that didn't stop him from making fun of her height.

She sighed as she dropped her bag on the ground and dragged her exhausted body to the refrigerator for a cool drink. She quickly popped open a soda can and drank down the carbonated substance as she glanced over the clock.

It was already past 6 in the evening and Ichigo wasn't back yet.

She walked over to the couch and plopped down into the leather cushions. She liked Ichigo's black couch, unlike her old one which started to smell back in her old apartment. With a sigh, she turned on the T.V. to look for something fun but in less than a minute she turned it off after seeing nothing but infomercials. She looked back at the clock, watching the second hand clicking away, its _click click_ sound resounding throughout the quiet apartment.

An hour passed. Ichigo still wasn't back.

Rukia frowned. _What's taking him so long? I'm fucking bored! _Even though she didn't like living with Ichigo, at least there wasn't a dull moment with him. But him being late was bugging her with annoyance. He didn't even have the decency to call her! Sure Rukia came home late too but only because Renji dragged her to watch him during Kendo practice that day afterschool.

"_Rukia, please!" Renji begged with his two hands pressed against each other in front of his face._

_Rukia sighed. "I don't get it; it's only practice so why should I go? It's not like you're competing against anybody."_

"_Oh com'on," Renji sighed, "What's bad about a friend asking his best friend to come watch him during practice?"_

"_It IS bad since that _friend _is preventing this friend—" she pointed to herself, "—from going home for a much needed sleep."_

_Renji frowned. "Why are you so tired these days? Are you working or something?"_

_Rukia looked away and scowled. No, she didn't have a job…but a certain _orange top_ wasn't lightening the load of papers they had to grade. And she had to help him _everyday_ now that they were living together; which means no need for her to stop after a certain time to go home. Since they live together now there was no way she could escape him with only half of the work done. She couldn't stop the groan from coming out of her mouth at the mere thought of what's been going on these past few days._

"_See, you're stressed," Renji commented, pulling Rukia out of her thoughts, "Come with me and maybe you can relieve some of that stress."_

_Rukia was quiet for a second before looking straight into her friend's eyes. "You know what? That doesn't sound like a bad idea."_

So Rukia went to his Kendo practice. At first it was one of the most boring things to watch _ever_. She already knew a lot about Kendo because of her brother, but Renji and his friends were a bunch of idiots who couldn't swing their 'swords' as beautifully as her brother. She watched for a good hour before Renji called her over. With much enthusiasm, Rukia grabbed the weapon in his hand and quickly swung it with all her might.

Renji was right about one thing. It helped her relieve a lot of her stress.

However, something good always come at a price. She was not only tired but her muscles were sore. Heck, she was whacking at Renji and his friends like a professional. Even Kenpachi-sensei barked out in laughter saying she was better than most of his pathetic students.

"What happened to you?"

Rukia groaned as she opened her heavy eyes. She looked over to the threshold of the apartment as Ichigo pulled his feet out of his shoes. He smirked at her as he walked over and plopped next to her on the couch.

"So how was your day?" he asked sarcastically.

Rukia scoffed. "Nothing goods been going on this past _week_."

Ichigo chuckled. "Have to agree with you on that one, midget."

Rukia glared but stayed still, too tired to move a single muscle. She closed her eyes again and slowly dropped her head against armrest.

"Oi, why are you suddenly so tired now?" Ichigo asked, "I didn't think we had _that_ many papers last night."

"No, it's not that," she shook her head against the leather, "I just went to the Kendo club afterschool and relieved some stress. Now I regret having such a persuasive idiot as my friend."

Ichigo chuckled as he scooted over to the other end of the couch until his back rested on the other armrest. He brought his legs up and placed it on top of Rukia's lap. He timed it perfectly. Even though he heard her growling in annoyance upon seeing his socked feet on her knees, she was too tired to do anything.

The two stayed in their position silently as the clock kept ticking away.

It was still a weekday, but fuck they were tired!

"Ichigo."

"Yeah," he groaned his reply as he stretched his tired arms above his head.

Rukia lifted her head and turned to look at him. "Can you _please_ extend my homework to another day?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Why? There's no paper to grade tonight and my assignment isn't that long."

Rukia groaned as dropped her head back, resting against the couch while still looking at him. "I know but I really want to sleep. I was able to finish all of my other homework except yours. I was planning on doing it at home but now I'm _way_ too tired to even lift a finger. So please," she begged with her puppy-dog eyes, "I really need some sleep."

Ichigo only stared back in silence for a few seconds before scratching the back of his head. He slid down from his position and lied completely on his back before responding. "Well, I would but that just gives you an unfair advantage. Since we're living together I really want to avoid doing something like that."

Rukia, feeling extremely desperate, jumped on top of him with pleading eyes.

"AUGH!" Ichigo growled when her petite body suddenly landed on top of him. His hands immediately grabbed her waist to steady them before falling off the couch. He glared down. "What the fuck are you doing midget?!"

"ICHI-GO!" she pouted with her baby-talk, "PWEAZE!"

Ichigo scowled in disgust. "That's not going to help you. If anything, it's making your situation worse."

Rukia glared. "Then what can I do? I'm willing to do _anything_ if you just give me one more day for the paper."

"I thought you were too tired to do anything," he raised an eyebrow.

Rukia sighed as she placed her hands flat on his chest and rested her chin on top of them. "Yeah I am, but I'm more tired of thinking than anything else."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and looked over at the clock on the wall.

It was almost 8 pm.

He looked back down at her and sighed. "I'll give you an extra day if and only if you promise to clean this apartment and make food for the next two weeks."

"WHAT?!" Rukia pushed herself up by her forearms which were still resting on his chest, "Why do I have to do all the work?!"

Ichigo smirked. "Because I'm way too busy to do it. Not to mention with midterms coming up next month right before summer break, it's taking up most of my time.

Rukia frowned before dropping her head again, this time landing against his soft but firm chest. She focused on a certain spot on the wall as she thought. Ichigo stayed still as his eyes looked down at Rukia on top of him. _She's not as heavy as I thought._

"Well?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia groaned as she moved her head to the other side. "…Fine."

Ichigo smirked as he quickly sat up, pushing Rukia up with him as she slid down his chest and onto her knees. "Excellent. Then why don't you start now by making dinner?"

Rukia glared at him. "Fucking bastard," she mumbled before hoisting her tired body up and dragging it to the kitchen.

"I want some yakitori!" he shouted at her.

"Just eat whatever I give you!" she shouted back at him from the kitchen.

Ichigo snorted before falling down on the couch like a dead weight. He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander while waiting for Rukia to finish dinner. Man was he hungry…but more tired than that. Uryuu, that fucking bastard, wouldn't let him leave until he made up a draft of the midterm exam _that_ day. And so he was forced to stay afterschool for another few hours. _I swear that school is sucking up all my energy_, Ichigo growled in thought, _I wonder if it's some monster or something that just loves to make my life miserable_.

It took a good thirty minutes before Rukia had set everything on the table. He did say he wanted yakitori but that was too much work. So she just decided to heat up some grilled fish from last night while making a new batch of rice and miso soup. With everything ready, she took off her apron and walked back to the living room. "Ichigo. Dinner's ready," she called out to the orange head.

"…"

Getting no response, she walked over to the couch only so see the man snoring away. She scowled. "Ichigo," she shook his arm, "Wake up. Dinner's ready."

But the dumbass just yanked his arm away and turned over to sleep in another position.

Feeling an impatient vein on her forehead, Rukaia quickly slapped the man on the forehead.

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK?!" he shouted, bolting up from his position while rubbing his sore skin. He glared over to see an equal amount of glare shooting back at him. "Why the fuck did you hit me, midget?!"

Rukia quickly smacked him upside the head this time. "Stop calling me a midget. And I was trying to wake you up to have dinner but you were too busy snoring away to hear me."

Ichigo grunted in pain before falling back down on the couch to his previous position, ready to go back to sleep. "I don't feel like eating anymore."

Rukia could practically feel steam shooting out of her ears. "Hey! You told me to make dinner so I did! You better get up Kurosaki Ichigo or else I swear I'll make your life even more miserable!"

Ichigo simply placed an arm over his eyes, ignoring her comment.

Seeing nothing but red, Rukia shook his shoulders and started to shout. "OI! LISTEN TO ME—"

"OH JUST SHUT UP!" Ichigo's arms quickly shot up and grabbed her wrists before yanking her down on him again.

"HEY!" she half shouted and half squeaked when she landed right back where she was only half an hour ago. Rukia tried to push herself off but one of Ichigo's arms snaked down to her waist and held her body tight against him. "Ichigo, let go!" she grunted.

"Just shut up and sleep," he snapped back, wiggling under her to position her petite body in a more comfortable position above him. "I'm too tired to argue with you and I know you are too. So let's just get some shut eye"

Rukia lifted her head and had to blow her bang out of her face to deliver a full glare at the man holding onto her. "I swear I'm going to cut you into little pieces when you're asleep. Then I'll bury them in each of your stupid books and burn it all together."

"Psch," Ichigo scoffed as his other hand came up behind Rukia's head and pushed it down under his chin. "I know you too well to know that even though you hate me you like my book collection."

Rukia pouted. "But I hate the amount of work you give me."

"Whatever," Ichigo scoffed as he closed his eyes. For a few seconds Rukia remained quiet before she started to wiggle around again. Ichigo could feel his patience running thin. "Oi, stop doing that."

"Just let me go," she whined, "This isn't very comfortable."

"Well it is to me so stop moving." He tightened his grip and lifted her body up a little higher. "You're too warm for your own good so share some of it with me."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "That totally didn't make sense."

"Shut up," he muttered.

Rukia sighed as she relaxed herself. "If I wake up with a bad back tomorrow, you're so going to pay."

Ichigo lightly chuckled and Rukia closed her eyes as she felt the small rumbling from within his chest. She could hear his steady heartbeat under her ears and slowly it was putting her to sleep.

Silence encased the two roommates with only the small ticking noise from the clock running through the apartment.

But even though sleep was just beyond his grasp, Ichigo frowned and he opened his eyes.

The lights were still on and it was difficult to sleep through it.

"Oi Rukia, can you turn off the lights—" when Ichigo looked down, he stopped his question upon seeing his little housemate sleeping peaceful on top of him, her mouth slightly open to allow her to breath evenly.

Ichigo just looked down at her peaceful expression. It was really surprising to see such a loudmouthed, bitchy and fiery midget suddenly sleeping so relaxed…and quiet. He couldn't help but smirk upon seeing her as she slept. After a few seconds, he lifted one of his legs, careful not to bother Rukia, and stretched his long leg above the couch where the light switch was located.

Mentally thanking godfor giving him the height that _some_ people obviouslylacked, he was able to strain his body, with much care, to turn off the lights in the living room. Sadly the kitchen was still lit with their cold dinner sitting at the table.

But Ichigo wasn't concerned about that now. After relaxing on the couch again, he looked down and smirked knowing Rukia hadn't woken up. He couldn't resist himself from burying his nose into her hair, allowing her sweet scent to lull him into a comfortable sleep.

---

Rukia groaned.

She was really warm and lying on top of a very odd but comfortable mattress. She turned her head to the other side to stretch the muscles behind her neck that was a bit strained from lying on one position for a long time. She sighed against whatever it was she that was lying on, wiggling her body to get a little more comfortable when suddenly…

"You really got to stop doing that," a husky voice murmured from underneath her.

Rukia frowned, stopping all movement.

Did beds talk? Last time she checked…no, they did NOT.

Suddenly something tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to the source of the blissful heat. It was nice, yes; but something was really off. It became even more confusing—and slightly scary—as she heard a low sound from underneath her head as the 'bed' grunted and held her tightly.

Slowly—every so slowly—Rukia opened her eyes but kept her body still as a rock. In her peripheral vision, she could see something…orange.

"AW!" she screamed when she realized what—or who—she was on top of. Without realizing what she did, Rukia quickly pushed herself off of him and fell off to the side.

"Rukia!" Ichigo tried to grab her but was a second too late because she was already on the ground with a sore butt. He looked over and couldn't help chuckling at the sight before him.

Rukia was on the ground with her messed up hair, rubbing her sore ass. Thankfully she was able to avoid the coffee table, but seeing her in such an imperfect state was hilarious to the orange head.

The young woman glared at him. "Zip it, would 'ya?!"

Ichigo closed his mouth but his shoulders kept shaking up and down to control his laughter.

"Shut up!" Rukia yelled at him.

"Sorry," Ichigo downed his laughter to a small snicker, "But you okay?" He extended a hand.

Rukia nodded with a groan, but once her hand fell onto the extended hand of Ichigo's, she remembered where she was sleeping _on_ just before. A sudden blush came across her face and she immediately pulled her hand back.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You okay?" he asked again.

"I—I," she stuttered, "On—you…sleeping…"

Ichigo was silent until he realized what she was talking about. He suddenly blushed too, looking away. "Ah, you mean _that_? Yeah, well…we were both tired," he started to mumble.

Rukia clenched her eyes shut, trying to shake the image of them sleeping together out of her head. "Still…"

Ichigo sighed. "Look, it's not like we slept together."

"What?" Rukia looked at him weirdly.

"No, I mean," he sighed, scratching the back of his head, "We didn't sleep_ together_, you know?"

Rukia stared at him before realizing what he was talking about, and quickly looked away, her blush turning to a deeper shade of red. "You didn't have to say _that_."

"Yeah well…at least it's true," he replied.

Rukia rolled her eyes. _Men are idiots_, she told herself before looking over at the clock.

6:30 am.

"Eugh," she groaned, "It's still too early."

Ichigo looked over to the clock and nodded, still keeping his wide smile. "Yeah, well we still have school to go to today." He quickly got a bigger groan as a response.

Rukia looked at the clock again before looking up at Ichigo who was still lying on the couch. "Oi."

"What?" he looked over at her. Rukia stood up from the ground and quickly got onto the couch, throwing one of her legs over Ichigo's body, trying to squeeze into the small space that was between his body and the back part of the couch. "Oi, what the hell are you—aw!" This time Ichigo screamed when Rukia suddenly used her foot to push him off the couch. He landed at the exact spot Rukia was a few seconds ago, but this time bumping his head, not his butt, on the ground. He groaned in pain as he grabbed the back of his head. "What the fuck was that for?!" he yelled up at her.

Rukia, who was now lying face-down on the couch, merely smirked at him. "I still have enough time to sleep for another hour." She looked at his scowl and returned the same look. "Don't look at me like that."

"Che, I'm not looking at you like anything," he growled.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Please, you're looking at me like I'm crazy."

"Because you are," he snapped back, "No wonder you live alone."

Rukia suddenly stiffened at his words. "W-what did you say?" she whispered.

"You know its true; you live alone when you have family somewhere in this country. I wouldn't be surprised if you were forced out of your home," he continued, not realizing the sudden change in demeanor at the girl he was criticizing. When he noticed she wasn't snapping back at him like how she usually did, he looked over and frowned at her distant look. "Oi, Rukia. You okay?"

The young woman just looked down for a second before pushing herself off the couch. "I'm going to go take a shower," she mumbled, quickly making her way out of the living room.

Ichigo watched as she disappeared around the corner and kept staring where she went to until he heard the bathroom door close shut. He let out a frustrated sigh before falling back down on his back. "What the fuck is up with her?"

---

Ichigo kept looking to the side as he silently walked next to Rukia towards school. Usually they don't go out together in fear of getting caught, but for some reason he didn't feel like leaving her alone just then. Her expression was still kind of blank. Was it because of him?

Ichigo scowled. What the hell did he say to make her mad?...Wait a sec; what did he talk about before she suddenly went quiet? Heck, shouldn't he be the one mad at _her_? After all, she was the one who woke him up from a nice dream with all her squirming; not to mention how her legs kept nudging his…_sensitive_ parts. Ichigo shook his head to get rid of a blush from coming on his face before looking back at Rukia.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Rukia, you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," she whispered before letting out a long breath and speaking again in a louder voice. "Don't worry about me; I'm still tired, that's all."

He was about to say something back when he was rudely interrupted.

"Kurosaki-kun!!"

Ichigo and Rukia stopped in their track and turned around to see an auburn-haired woman approaching them at top speed.

"Ah, ohayo…Inoue," Ichigo awkwardly greeted his high school friend.

Orihime quickly caught up to them. She bent down, trying to catch her breath with one hand on her knee and the other…holding onto Ichigo's sleeve. Rukia quickly looked away at the image, especially since Ichigo wasn't pulling away.

"Ah, ohayo Kurosaki-kun!" she greeted him with a smile after her breathing returned to normal, "I didn't think I'd end up seeing you on the way to school this early."

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his head, "I just got up early this morning so I decided to go to school now."

"I see," she smiled. Orhime was about to add something else when she noticed that the two of them were not alone. "Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia looked up and tried to act innocent. "Hai. Ohayo gozaimasu, Inoue-sensei," she bowed.

Orihime's lips twitched up and down, not really sure how to react at seeing a teacher and a student walking together. "O-ohayo. Ano, why are you here?"

Wow, talk about being direct.

"Ah, I was going to school and I just met her on the way," Ichigo quickly intervened, "Apparently she lives near my neighborhood."

"Oh, I see," Orihime nodded before looking at the two back and forth, "Still, you should be more careful. If anyone else sees you two together they might think something's up."

"Ah, wa li," Ichigo nodded, "I'll be more careful next time."

"Yes, me too," Rukia bowed again.

Orihime nodded at the young student before turning back to the orange head with her happy smile. "Anyways, now that we're together let's go to school together!" she pumped her arms into the air.

Ichigo gave her an awkward smile which quickly got replaced with a frown when he noticed Rukia was frowning. _Serious, what's wrong with her?_

"Let's go!" Orihime squealed again before grabbing Ichigo's arm and pulling him away from Rukia.

"Ah! Wait, Inoue!" he tried to stop her but couldn't wiggle his arm free from its encasement between her arms and her breasts. He turned back to look at Rukia, begging her with his eyes to help him.

But Rukia wasn't looking.

She looked away the moment she saw Inoue-sensei grab Ichigo's arm and pulling him further away from her. She didn't know why but she didn't stop a scowl from appearing on her face. Rukia continued on with her slow pace and reached her high school within five minutes.

Ichigo scowled even more as he arrived at his office. He was pissed that Rukia ignored him when Orihime suddenly came and took him away. He really wanted to break through that ice wall she created and see what she's thinking. They've been living together for over a week and known each other for almost two months. And from the day they first met they couldn't keep their real selves hidden from each other. Just looking into each other's eyes was enough to figure out what the other was thinking, even if other people could not.

But today, after waking up together on the couch, she put up a wall within her; something she never done to him before. And it was bothering the shit out of him.

"Kurosaki?"

The orange head kept his frown as he turned around. "What?" he growled.

Uryuu raised an amused eyebrow. "What got your panties in bunch?"

"Shut up," Ichigo glared before adding, "And I don't wear panties."

"Sure you don't," Uryuu smirked as he approached his friend and sat on his vacant seat. "Anyways, Inoue-san told me you came to school with her."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I just met her on the way here. Before I knew it, she grabbed my arm and literally dragged me here." He turned back to his desk and started getting ready for his first class…with Rukia. _Bitch_, he thought, _I'll make you pay for ignoring me._

Uryuu nodded. "That better be it. Don't forget this school is strict about relationships amongst the staff members."

"You don't have to worry about that; I never saw Inoue as anything more than a friend."

"But can you say the same about _her_?" Uryuu added his voice all serious suddenly.

Ichigo froze from unpacking his bag. He slowly turned to his friend and glared. "Don't you dare bring up that topic again, Ishida."

His friend glared back, crossing his arms across his chest. "Kurosaki, you know as well as I do that Inoue-san still hasn't gotten over you from high school. Heck, her feelings for you revived itself when you came to this school." He became quiet, waiting for his friend to retort but when he got nothing Uryuu continued. "Just make sure you keep your distance. This school doesn't take lightly of these sorts of relationship. They only allowed Toushiro's relationship because his situation is a bit different. But if anyone catches you with another teacher—or a student—then you can kiss your career 'goodbye.'"

Ichigo was quiet, taking in everything his friend just told him. A relationship with another staff member…or with a student, was forbidden. He suppressed a sigh and looked at his friend with fake amusement. "Then shouldn't you leave my office? You wouldn't want anyone to question _your_ sexuality again, now do you?"

Uryuu immediately reddened with rage as he stood up and stomped out of his _friend's_ office.

Ichigo smirked. "Look's like he's still not over that stupid rumor," he mumbled to himself. He sat down on the seat Uryuu just vacated and slump his head back, his arms dangling on his sides. "This is fucked up…" he sighed. In less than an hour he gathered his materials and made his way to class.

"Sit down!" He shouted as he entered class 3-2 as soon as the bell rung. In a few seconds the students all returned to their seats and Ichigo started class.

He took the regular attendance and quickly collected the homework that was due. When he reached Rukia, she just handed him a blank piece of paper which he took so nobody would suspect anything. When he returned to the front of the room, he quickly grabbed his book. "Open to page 43 and we'll continue from where we left off yesterday."

"Hai," the students responded as they got out their copy of the book.

Ichigo took one look around the room before calling on a name. "Abarai, you start."

Renji, who was looking at the slump back of his friend in front of him, was suddenly brought out of his train of thought when he heard his name being called. "W-what?"

Ichigo scowled. "Pay attention next time." He looked over to another student and called on him. "Asano, you start."

"H-hai," Keigo jumped up and started to read out loud.

Renji scowled, glaring at Ichigo who ignored the red head after humiliating him in front of everyone. He knew he didn't like his new teacher; the bastard was way too cocky in his opinion.

But Ichigo really didn't care. Heck, he was feeling extremely pissed off. When he first walked around the classroom to collect the homework, he tried to get Rukia's attention by sneaking a small note in her hand when she handed him her 'homework,' asking if she was really okay. But that damn bitch just merely read the little note and quickly shoved it into her book, not even bothering to look at him.

Rukia kept her gaze out the window, not even looking at her book. Ichigo could call on her, embarrassing her as well…but he knew she would end up killing him later back at home once she's normal again. So Ichigo only let out a quiet sigh and listened to Keigo, who was doing a horrible job using different tone of voices for each character.

The class continued without drama. Soon the bell rung and Ichigo left the class, only to be replaced by another teacher for the next class. But as Ichigo left, he took one last look over at Rukia but the damn bitch still wasn't looking at him.

Before she knew, Rukia was sitting around with her girlfriends and opening up their lunch box.

"You okay?" Tatsuki asked.

Rukia looked up from her lunch. "Huh?"

"I asked you if you're okay," Tatsuki repeated.

"Of course I am; why wouldn't I be?" Rukia sweetly smiled at her friend.

Tatsuki frowned but couldn't say anything when Matsumoto and Hinamori returned from the restroom.

"Hey Rukia, I heard you moved into a new apartment last week," Matsumoto said, "What happened? Why'd you suddenly move?"

"Oh, about that," Rukia sighed, trying to figure out how to tell her friends the truth but keep the part of living with their teacher a secret, "Well, last week I was on my way home and I found it totally ruined." She paused when her friends gasped, "Apparently somebody broke into my place just before I got home."

"Oh no!" Hinamori gasped with watery eyes, "Did you call the police."

Rukia nodded. "But I don't know if they caught him yet. I haven't gotten any call back from them."

"What did you lose?" her friend asked.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "Mostly jewelries and some stash of money that I had secretly hidden at my place. Not to mention I'm missing some underwear."

Tatsuki scowled. "If I ever get my hands on that preverted bastard I'm going to fucking kill him," she sneered through her clench teeth.

Rukia smiled at her friend. "I'll give you a call if he ever gets caught."

"Then where do you live now?" the strawberry-blonde asked.

"Um, not too far from my old apartment," Rukia replied, chuckling nervously, "It's close to my old place and I was able to move in only a day after the break in." She quickly brought up her juice box and started to drink its content before she said anything unnecessary.

Tatsuki looked at her other two friends and nodded. "We should go and visit that place."

Rukia almost spat out her juice. "W-what?" she stuttered.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "Your new home. We want to visit and help out with anything that might not have already been unpacked."

Rukia quickly shook her head. "That's okay. I already moved into my new place a week ago and everything is already set. So no need to worry about anything," she chuckled nervously.

Matsumoto frowned as she crossed her arms under her…ahem, gigantic…gifts (?). "But why did you move without telling us?"

"Um," Rukia could feel balls of cold sweat sliding down her neck, "I didn't have much to move since most of the big stuff have been destroyed. And I didn't want to bother any of you guys."

"Still, I wished you would have told us," Hinamori added.

Rukia smiled. "I'm sorry. I promise I will next time."

"Well then," Matsumoto clapped her hands together and smiled widely. "I say we all go over to Rukia's place today and christen her new place with our presence!"

Tatsuki and Hinamori was about to respond with a cheer when Rukia, looking pale white, jumped in. "NO YOU CAN'T!"

The three girls froze and stared at their friend.

Realizing her sudden action was a bit suspicious, Rukia let out a small nervous laugh again. "You see, this time I decided to move in with someone since living by myself is unsafe. And I don't think…_she_ would appreciate it if you guys suddenly came over."

Tatsuki looked at her and frowned. "But you're not the type to live with anyone. You'd end up driving that person up the wall."

"Wow, thanks a lot," Rukia glared at her friend.

"And what kind of person gets mad just because her roommate brings over some friends. I doubt she never did," Matsumoto pouted.

Rukia looked away, afraid of looking straight at her friends' eyes. "Yeah well, _she_'s kind of anti-social."

"Man, did you move into the wrong place or what?" Tatsuki snorted.

Rukia nodded. "But I was in a hurry so there was nothing I could do about it."

Matsumoto frowned. "Then I guess there won't be a party."

"Yeah," Rukia chuckled, "Sorry."

Tatsuki nodded. "There's no helping it. But you are okay, right? That burglary must have scared you."

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "I try not to think too much about it. It's already been a week and I'm trying not to make a big deal out of this. The move enough was stressful."

"…But does your brother know?" Hinamori suddenly asked, very carefully at that.

Rukia stared at her friend before looking down and shaking her head. "It's not like he'd care anyways. Heck, niisama doesn't even call me unless it's an emergency or something. He only contributes by putting a good amount of allowance into my bank account every week but other than that he really doesn't care what happens to me."

Tatsuki frowned. "You're brother really needs to let loose."

Rukia looked at her friend and offered a small smile. "I think so too."

The bell suddenly rang and the four girls stood up. "Well, let's get going before Momo's fiancé starts biting our heads off." Tatsuki smirked.

"More like kill us while biting only Momo," Matsumoto winked.

"You guys!" Hinamori blushed, giving her two friends a cute glare.

Rukia smiled as she walked with her friends back to their classroom. However, her mind was still completely on her brother that she didn't even notice when she bumped into someone in the hallway.

The person nearly tripped, dropping all the papers in his hands. "What the—" He turned around to say something when he noticed who it was.

Tatsuki quickly appeared in front of him to stick up for Rukia as she kept walking on by. "Sorry about that Ichigo. Rukia just has a lot on her mind."

Ichigo frowned. "What could it possibly be that she'd bump into her teacher and just continue walking by like nothing happened?"

"Well, we accidently brought up the topic about her brother, which is a sensitive subject to the girl," she sighed.

Ichigo froze as he went into deep thought. _Brother…_ He looked at Tatsuki with a curious look. "What's her brother like?" When Tatsuki suddenly raised her eyebrow, Ichigo rolled his eyes and retorted. "I just wanted to know what kind of person my student's brother is like that could possibly leave his little sister like that."

Tatsuki was quiet for a second, not sure whether or not to tell Ichigo. "Well…"

"Just spit it out, Arisawa," Ichigo scowled.

Tatsuki sighed in defeat. "Okay, well you see…that brother of hers, Kuchiki Byakuya, has probably the longest pole stuck up in his ass."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"He's not really her brother; she was adopted into his family because of her sister…it's a long story," she rolled her eyes. Ichigo had to bite his tongue from saying he already knew about that part of the story, and just let her continue. "Anyways, that dude barely talks to Rukia; heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know what she even looked like! He gave her a full speech of what it meant to be a Kuchiki, putting way too many pressure on her shoulders starting at a young age. In the end, Rukia couldn't stand it anymore so she left his place. It took awhile for him to accept this…actually Kuchiki-sama _still_ doesn't like it but can't do anything about it now. So he only contributes by giving her money often. But that bastard doesn't even call or send a message." Tatsuki scowled and added, "Prick" at the end.

Ichigo, who's been listening very carefully, was starting to dislike this brother of hers more and more he heard about him (which wasn't much). He now slowly realized what it was that got Rukia so pissed off at him the entire day: he made the stupid mistake of bringing up the topic of how nobody wanted her.

Ichigo inwardly groaned. Looked like he needed to make a full apology to her.

"You should go back to class now, Arisawa," he pointed at her, "Thanks for telling me though."

Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders. "Just don't tell Rukia that I told you," she glared before running back to her class.

Ichigo nodded his head as he made his way to his next class as well. But even throughout the entire class he just couldn't get rid of Rukia from his mind, nor how twisted her life was. _Just like me…_he thought, barely concentrating on the students who were reading in his current class.

He made the mistake of starting her day off wrong by bringing up such a touchy subject. And if what Arisawa said was true, then Rukia was still distressed, if not more because her friends seemed to have brought it up too.

Ichigo sighed, thinking about some way to cheer her up a bit…

---

Rukia waved at her friends as they all left the classroom one by one.

"See you later Rukia!" Matsumoto sang out loud as she exited the room.

"Bye," Rukia waved back.

Renji, who finally packed up all his stuff, walked up to her desk and ruffled her hair. "I'll see you later, Rukia."

The young woman glared before ripping his hand off of her. "Yeah, see you later you baboon,"

Renji merely smirked before heading out to his Kendo club.

Now being the only left behind, Rukia allowed herself to let out a long breath, stretching her arms up and down.

"Staying late, midget?"

Rukia looked up and frowned upon seeing her 'sensei' casually leaning against the doorway of the empty classroom. "As a matter of fact, no, Kurosaki-sensei," she replied lowly.

Ichigo smirked before pushing himself off. He slowly approached Rukia who was still packing her bag. After taking a look on what was on her desk, he couldn't help but frown. "Why do you carry around so much shit?" he asked, picking up a useless looking utensil from her desk, "I doubt this was all required at the beginning of the school year."

Rukia quickly yanked the item out of Ichig's grasp and shoved it into her bag. "For you information, Kurosaki-_sensei_, I like to carry around extra stuff because you just don't know when something might come in handy."

Ichigo chuckled before sitting on Rukia's desk. "Oi."

"What?" she growled.

Without another word, Ichigo suddenly grabbed one of her wrist and started to pull her away.

"Ichigo! What are you doing?!" Rukia asked in hysterics.

"Just shut up and follow me," he said.

"Ichigo—" Rukia strained to free herself from his grasp but Ichigo only held tighter and pulled her out into the hallway, "—let go! What if somebody sees us?!"

Ichigo didn't even bother to look as he dragged her smaller body behind him. "Don't worry, if they do I'll just tell them that you were trying to run away after causing a fight and so I'm punishing you."

"WHAT?!"

"I am your homeroom teacher after all," Ichigo smirked.

Rukia glared holes into the back of the orange head as she finally allowed herself to be dragged by him.

Thankfully nobody seemed to be around as Ichigo continued to pull her down the hall. Soon they reached the stairs and they started to climb…up? But they were already on the third floor which meant the only thing above them was the school ceiling, which had been locked off since she started attending this school.

"Can we really be up here?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Will you stop acting all goody-tissue and just trust me? Besides, I have the key." Before Rukia could retort Ichigo slid the said key into the keyhole, turned it, unlocking the door.

Rukia crossed her arms and stepped back. "I don't know…we're still in school and if anyone sees us now they'll get suspicious."

Ichigo smirked. "Just don't think about anything else but what I'm about to show you. Trust me, it will be worth it."

Ichigo twisted the doorknob and opened the metallic door. Rukia drew in a breath when cool air suddenly blew inside, flowing through her dark tresses. When the door fully opened she had to squint her eyes at the sudden light, barely able to see anything in front of her. Only after a few seconds she was able to open them again, this time seeing Ichigo grinning next to the open door and holding out one of his hands.

Rukia stared at his hand for a second, before placing her own on top of his. Ichigo enclosed his larger hand around her smaller one and pulled her outside. The two walked through the door and Rukia let out a gasp.

Ichigo leaned over and whispered next to her ear, "I told you it would be worth it."

Rukia only responded with a smile as she walked over to the rail only to see a grand view of Karakura in front of her.

"When I attended this school I would often sneak up here for lunch," Ichigo said, looking out into the town with her. "It's one of my favorite places."

"I can see why," Rukia replied.

Ichigo smirked before looking down at their hands that were still holding each other. He lifted her hand and turned it over, palm up. Rukia looked at him before looking down at her hand. Ichigo placed the key into it and used his other hand to curl her fingers around it, entrapping the key in her fist. "Whenever you feel worried, scared, pissed or just plain bored, come up here."

Rukia looked at him and smiled. "Is this your way of showing you care about me?"

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "I just know there are times when you need fresh air. So why not get it from the highest place where the air is most fresh?"

"What if someone catches me up here?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I used to help out the old janitor in this school and only he had the one key to this place, which he later gave me. Nobody will be able to get up here but us," he said before lifting up another key, the exact copy of the one in her hand, dangling it from between his fingers. "This will be our little secret."

Rukia let out a loud laugh before hugging him. "Arigatou, Ichigo."

Ichigo hugged her back. "No problem, midget."

They released each other to look back out. The sun had started to set, setting the sky into a beautiful array of dark and bright colors. Ichigo slowly started whistling a small tune.

"Oi."

"What?" Ichigo replied.

Rukia looked up at him and smirked. "Shut up."

Ichigo looked at her with confusion etched on his face before letting out a chuckle. "Fine, you win."

* * *

A/N: whew, that was LOOONG!! I might have broken my record lol

Anyways, like I said: nothing much but fluff and more fluff. Not my best piece of work but I just _had_ to write something before writing other chapters. Still, I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Please review.

Now, as a 'THANK YOU,' my friend helped me organize this so please look down and read (not in any specific order).

xKumaBearx  
**Xion784**  
Itachislayer31  
**LaVenDaRxXxHiMaWaRi (about IshidaXInoue…I like that pairing too but I need Inoue to be a bit annoying first. But trust me, it will come out good *winks*)**  
phoenixfire3473  
**Giuleee**  
Yuyukawai (never heard of anyone printing my work before. THANK YOU! I love you!)  
**akirk85029 (ah! I love your work!!! It's so cool having you review my story. Me so happy^^)**  
snowywhite  
**Watchamker163**  
JadeRent (no way! I can't believe you reviewed my work! I love u and ur stories so much!!!)  
**LittleRu (I love making fun of Keigo! Hehe)**  
amazeedayzee (thanks for sticking with the story. It'll get better!)  
**AvaLuna**  
BlatantlyAnonymous  
**megui-chan**  
I'mtheBrideofBYAKUYA  
**LadyLady1994 (and the sexual tension will continue to increase! Muwhahaha!)**  
Mini-MoonStar (I'm sorry about that…hope you like this chapter better! I'll try my best to make this story more interesting)  
**LoveIchigo**  
Leena-kun  
**Braveheart532**  
Cattenlent  
**MrsKurosakixxx**  
1blackcat (I love Urahara too)  
**ChaosBlademaster**  
Ispano-guymelef  
**HarunoRin (the phone charm thing…it'll play an important role later on *wink*)**  
cosmosxhikaru  
**4K-san**  
abrokencitysky  
**Darksmile**  
Isuk  
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**KoshiNoriko (I never got such a long review before. Thank you! *loves*)**  
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Rukia-Chappie-Chan

If I missed you, please let me know and I'll add you in the next chapter!

I might do this one or two more times this entire story, so wait and see!!

Tiny preview for next chapter:

_Rukia+flu=horny Ichigo_ (!?)


	8. 08 Screw the Flu

**Author's Note: Damn, I think I just broke another record!!!!**

**Anyways, thanks again for all the reviews guys! It really made me happy, especially since some depressing events have been happening in my life. But never fear! I will get right back up soon and present to you guys with another chapter, hopefully by the end of this week.**

**This chapter is exactly what I promised you guys last week. Rukia's sick and Ichigo has to take care of her. But something unexpected might happen on the way.**

**Speaking of last week, I got lots of reviews and PMs from you guys regarding the legality of this story: the teacherxstudent relationship. Don't worry; I am very well aware of our laws (and even the ones in Japan) and know that their relationship is forbidden. But that's what's so exciting! Especially since this will take an affect later on in the story. Just be patient a little and you'll see. Also, if you guys read as many shoujo mangas as I do (my friend can't stop buying them and lending them to me) then you'll see a lot of these taboo stories. I'm pretty much getting my influence from those. And don't forget: THIS IS NOT A REAL STORY! Just read and enjoy! ^^**

**Also, there were some comments about grammatical errors and the 'I'm not really liking your story' comments. I felt like I need to defend myself a bit. Skip this if it doesn't concern you. Firstly, English isn't my first language so I make tons of mistakes when it comes to grammar. I'm trying to fix it but it's been a habit for so long that it's almost impossible. Not to mention I have a hard time finding them in my stories. So please be understanding of my situation. As for the second offense, I know my stories aren't the best and I apologize for that. I'm so busy and I tend to rush through each chapter so there might be some awkward or weird moments in the story. Trust me, I don't like those either. But I don't have a choice but to just skip over them since I want to quickly upload a new chapter. A lot of my other stories are like that and I want to go back and rewrite them but I'm too busy to do that. I'm not perfect like many of my favorite writers but I'm trying my best. So please, don't hate my story because of it.**

**I'm not bashing on anyone. I like learning from my mistakes. But the two problems above are something I'm having a real hard time getting over so I most likely won't be able to do anything to change them for a while. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the reviews and PMs. In fact I LOVE you guys for your concern. I value your comments and take them into consideration. So please, read and review more!!!**

**I love all you guys!!!! 3  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 8: Screw the Flu

* * *

"Oi, Rukia! Get up!" Ichigo yelled, pounding his fist against Rukia's door like a hammer, "If you don't get up now you'll be late for school!"

"…"

"RUKIA!" Ichigo was about to slam his fist down one last time when the door suddenly swung open. "Finally you're awake—" Ichigo paused when he noticed the state Rukia was in. "When did you come back from the grave?"

Rukia glared up at him as much as she could. She was still in her pajamas with her hair all disheveled and eyes bloodshot red. "Your sarcasm will only lead you to an early grave, so I advise you to keep your mouth shut," she growled before pushing past him and heading towards the bathroom.

But before she could reach too far, Ichigo grabbed her elbow and stopped her. "What's wrong?" he asked in a serious tone.

"What are you talking about?" Rukia groaned, obviously annoyed. She rolled her arm to release herself from his grasp but Ichigo only held on tighter. "Will you let go? Like you said, if I don't get ready now, then I'm going to be late for school."

Ichigo ignored her remark and placed his free hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature. "I don't think so. You have a high fever right now. I advise you to stay home."

"Don't be stupid," Rukia slapped his hand away, "I haven't missed a single day of school before so there's no way I'm going to start now."

Ichigo sighed, grabbing her again when she tried to walk away. "Rukia, I'm serious. I advise you to stay home."

"Ichigo let go," she growled in frustration, "Besides, how would you know if this is serious or not? Last time I checked you're not a doctor."

"No, I'm not. But my father is and I attended medical school for several years so I know all the symptoms of a bad flu. So I advise you to stay home before you get others sick," Ichigo glared.

Rukia sighed. Snapping her arm back she continued her way back to the bathroom. "I don't care; I'm going to go get ready."

Before Ichigo could retort, Rukia slammed the door against his nose. He let out a deep sigh. "Rukia, will you please listen to me just this once." But instead of getting any reply all he heard was the water running, loudly, blocking out any other sound. "Stubborn bitch," Ichigo glared at the door before making his way towards the kitchen.

There was still a good thirty minutes before school started, which let him enough time to quickly brew up some warm soup. He grabbed a small pot and quickly poured in a can of soup and placed it on top of the stovetop. Time passed as Ichigo prepared the soup and squeezed a pair of fresh orange juice into a cup. As the water from the bathroom stopped, Ichigo checked his watch and sighed. When he heard the bathroom door open, Ichigo shouted out, "I have to get going right now."

"Fine," Rukia called out in a scratchy voice.

"I have some soup out here on the table and a glass of juice. Eat some of it before you leave the house," he said.

"…whatever," Rukia replied.

If it were someone else they might have taken Rukia's reaction as inconsiderate, but Ichigo's been living with her long enough to understand that she was grateful but her stupid pride wouldn't let her say it. With a smirk, Ichigo grabbed his bag and left the apartment, heading towards school.

_Summer is just around the corner… how could she have possible gotten a cold? _Ichigo thought to himself as he walked, _must be because of her cold personality._

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kurosaki-sensei!"

Ichigo looked up and smiled at the students and staff members as he arrived at school. "Ohayo," he greeted back. He made his way towards his private office and settled down on his desk after closing the door. Looking around his desk, Ichigo let out a sigh. He should be getting ready for class…but something else was occupying his mind. He looked at the clock and frowned.

8:10 am.

There was still twenty minutes before class was to start. Ichigo grabbed his cellphone and quickly called a number.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

Ichigo patiently waited as the ringing continued on the other line.

_Ring. Ring. Ri—_"_What?"_

Ichigo smirked before replying, "Where are you now?"

"…_Fuck you," _Rukia groaned over the phone, _"I'm almost there so don't bother me._"

"You really need to work on your speaking skills. I'm still your teacher," Ichigo teased before becoming serious, "But you did eat the soup, right?"

"_Yes, so will you stop bothering me,_"Ichigo could feel Rukia glaring through the phone.

"I will when you stop being such a bitch," Ichigo replied just before Rukia hung up on him. He glared at the phone before grabbing some stack of paper and going through the materials. For some reason, after talking to Rukia, Ichigo felt like a small load was off his shoulders so he could concentrate on his work.

He pulled out one of Shakespeare's play from his bag and returned to rummage through his bag to get some papers when his hand suddenly collided with something hard.

"What the—" Ichigo grabbed the small object and pulled it out. In his hand was another copy of the Shakespeare play that he had on his desk. Confused, Ichigo flipped open the cover page and read the name of the owner. He couldn't help smirking upon seeing the name.

"Dumbass," he whispered before placing the second copy on top of the papers that he was going to take to class.

In a matter of minutes the bell rang signaling the start of class. Ichigo gathered his materials and made his way to class. From outside the classroom, he could see his students still fooling around. But that didn't bother him.

What was bothering him was that Rukia was looking even paler than she was when he woke her up.

With a deeper frown, Ichigo slid open the door and walked in. "Calm down and get back to your seats!" he shouted over the noise. Everyone returned to their seats and quieted as Ichigo went to the front and called out attendance.

After Rukia raised her hand to indicate she was 'here,' she dropped her head on her desk and rested there while Ichigo continued with attendance.

"Psst. Rukia, you okay?"

Rukia responded with only a groan.

Renji leaned forward even more and tapped her shoulder. "You sick?"

"…yeah," she replied.

"You want me to take you to the nurse's office?" he asked in worry. He's known Rukia for _years_ but he could barely remember a day when she was this sick.

"No," Rukia quietly moaned, "I'll be fine."

"You two! Quit your yapping and open your book to Act III Scene VII," Ichigo called out to them.

"Hai," Renji responded before grabbing his Shakespeare book.

Rukia sent Ichigo a small glare before rummaging through her bag, looking for her book. But no matter how many times she rummaged through her bag, she couldn't find her book anywhere.

"Matsumoto, Hinamori and Mizurio, please read from the first line," he called out.

"Hai," they replied before standing up and reading the play out loud.

Rukia started panicking. The three already started reading but she still couldn't find her book! Never had she forgotten something for school. And what happens if Ichigo suddenly calls on her?! Just then, Ichigo started walking around class with his one hand holding up his book in front of his face and the other hand hidden behind his back. He was slowly walking towards Rukia, who was still silently rummaging her bag.

_If Ichigo finds out I left my book at home, he's going to hang this over my head forever!_ Rukia thought. She was starting to sweat as Ichigo approached. The hand that was behind his back was starting to move forward and Rukia shut her eyes tight waiting for him to point out she wasn't reading along with everyone else, and then—

She heard a small _thunk_ on her desk and Ichigo's footsteps walking past her. Rukia peeked open one eye to see Ichigo gone and her book on her desk. Confused as to what just happened, Rukia turned around but Ichigo continued walking around class through the aisles.

Luckily nobody seemed to have saw Ichigo place the book on her desk because they were all too busy trying to stay in line with what the three were reading.

Rukia looked at the book on her desk and stared at it for awhile. She lifted the front cover and there it was: her name. But why did Ichigo have her book? With a sigh, Rukai grabbed her book and quickly opened to the page as Matsumoto started to read her next line.

As soon as she opened to current page, a piece of paper fell out and onto Rukia's lap. She picked it up and read the single word written on it.

_Dumbass._

Rukia glared before crumbling the paper in her little fist.

---

Rukia let out a low growl as she rested her warm head against the cool desk.

"You really look like shit," Renji said.

"Thanks a lot," Rukia glared.

Tatsuki reached over and placed a hand on her friend's forehead. "You're really heating up. You sure you don't want to go home?"

Rukia shook her head against the desk after Tatsuki pulled her hand back. "Summer break is almost here, which means exams are coming up."

Hinamori released a sigh as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take notes for you so why don't you go home?"

"Thanks for your consideration Momo, but I really don't want to leave in the middle of school. Besides," she looked up and gave her friends the best reassuring smile she could muster, "There's only two more hours of school left."

"Is my lovely Kuchiki-san sick?" Keigo jumped in front of them and started to cry, "Why are you suddenly ill, my love? Your pain is my pain and it hurts!" he dramatically shouted as he grabbed his shirt by his heart.

Rukia only grunted before facing downwards on the desk again.

Renji grabbed Rukia's bag and started going through her stuff. "Hey Tatsuki, get her a water bottle," he said before pulling out her small bottle of aspirin. "This should help her out a bit."

Tatsuki quickly went out the room and returned with a water bottle. "Here you go." She handed Rukia the water while Renji placed a single aspirin on Rukia's other hand.

"Thanks," Rukia groaned before taking the aspirin.

As soon as the little pill was forced down her throat the bell rung and break was over. The others returned to their respectful seats when Ishida-sensei walked in.

"Okay guys, let's get started," Uryuu said as he started writing out a problem on the board.

Rukia pulled out her notebook and started to take down notes… but slowly, with each passing minute, her eyesight started to get really blurry.

"Kuchiki, will you answer—Kuchiki? Are you okay?"

Startled, Rukia looked up to see Uryuu looking at her with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?" Uryuu asked again.

"H-hai," she answered, "Just a little dizzy."

Uryuu eyed Rukia for a second before looking up at Renji. "Abarai, can you please take Kuchiki to the nurse's office?"

"Hai—"

"No!" Rukia held up her hands and shook them in front of her face, stopping Renji in his seat. "I'm fine, really. There's no need to worry, Ishida-sensei."

"You sure?" Uryuu asked.

Rukia nodded her head. "Hai."

Behind her, Renji sat back down but placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you're not feeling well then tell me. I'll take you straight to the nurse's office."

Rukia nodded at him before looking back at the board where Uryuu started to continue class. She took in a deep breath and took down notes, but her head wasn't getting any better.

_Ring ring ring!_

The bell finally rung after a long, _excruciating _hour of Ishida-sensei talking about nothing but photosynthesis. It should have been bliss but the bell just added to Rukia's pain.

"Rukia, I really think you should go lay down for a bit," Tatsuki said.

Rukia sighed. "Maybe I should," she finally gave in.

"Let me help you," Renji said as he started to get up.

"No," Rukia interrupted him again, "I can go by myself."

Renji watched as Rukia made her way to the door. "You sure?"

"Yes so don't—" Rukia turned around to reassure her friends with a smile, but she must have turned around a bit too quickly because suddenly everything became fuzzy and she started to fall back.

"RUKIA!" they all shouted out to her.

Renji jumped up and rushed forward but…

Rukia was already halfway out the door when she suddenly started to fall backwards. In her dizzy state, she expected to hit the hard ground when instead she landed on something soft and hard at the same time.

Renji slowed down when he noticed that someone else seemed to have caught Rukia from the other side of the door. He looked over to see none other than Kurosaki-sensei holding onto a barely unconscious Rukia.

"Rukia!" Tatsuki pushed passed the red head and quickly knelt beside them. "Ichigo, is she okay?" she asked him.

Ichigo placed his hand on her forehead and his frown deepened. "She's worse than before…" he mumbled before standing up with Rukia in his arms, an arm around her shoulders and the other one under her knees. "I'm taking her to the nurse's office," he told Tatsuki as he quickly made his way down the hall.

Ikkaku and Yumichikia appeared beside Renji. "Looks like she was worse than what she was really letting on," Ikkaku said.

Renji didn't reply. In fact, he hadn't moved after seeing Rukia in Ichigo's arms. Maybe it was because he felt like it should have been _him _to catch Rukia, or maybe because it was the worried look Ichigo had on as he looked down at her.

But what bothered him the most was what Ichigo mumbled.

"_She's worse than before_…"

How would he know that?

---

Ichigo was on his way to his office when suddenly he saw Rukia falling backwards, out the door. Without thinking he charged forward and luckily caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Rukia," he softly breathed out when he caught her.

Rukia, who was about to pass out, lightly opened her eyes to see who caught her. "Ichigo…" she whispered before blacking out.

"Rukia!" Tatsuki ran towards them and knelt next to them. "Ichigo, is she okay?"

Ichigo barely heard what Tatsuki said. He placed his hand on Rukia's forehead to feel her temperature. "She's worse than before…" he thought out loud. If he didn't know any better it seemed like her temperature might be over a hundred degrees.

He collected her limp body into his arms and said, "I'm taking her to the nurse's office," before quickly making his way down the hall.

He didn't care who he passed or who he knocked over. Ichigo was in hurry to get Rukia to the nurse's office. When he arrived, he used his feet to slide open the door. "Inoue!"

Orihime looked up from her desk when she heard her name. "Kurosaki-kun!" she jumped up with a huge smile, "Did you need me?"

Ichigo stepped in and nodded his head towards the beds. "Where can I place her?"

"Who—" Orihime looked down to finally notice an unconscious Rukia in his arms. "Oh my! Please place her over here," she led them towards one of the empty beds (though it wouldn't have mattered since they were all empty) and lifted the covers.

Ichigo gently placed Rukia on the bed and grabbed the covers out of Orihime's grasp and covered her up. He felt her temperature again which was still high as before. "Her fever is not going down," he said before looking at Orihime, "Do you have anything to lower her temperature?"

Orihime quickly walked over to a cabinet and started to rummage through several rolls of tape and bottles of medications. "I know I have something in here…" she pulled out several bottles and read the labels. "I'm not sure what these are—Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime stepped back with a blush when Ichigo walked forward and grabbed her arm. But instead of anything romantic, he just pulled her away to grab something from within the cabinet himself. Orihime hid her blush, anticipation, disappointment, and pout.

Ichigo pulled out an instant cold pack and started to crack it to release the chemical that would freeze the bag. As soon as it was ready he returned to Rukia and placed it on her forehead, earning him a soft whimper as her face scrunched up.

Orihime silently watched from the side and frowned. "Do you know what you're doing, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo carefully shifted the pack to the center of her head as his other hand reached up to touch Rukia's pale cheek with the back of his fingers. "My dad's a doctor, remember? I learned all this basic stuff since I was a kid," he replied.

The buxom woman nodded. "Shouldn't we call her home? Somebody should pick her up and take her home." Orihime suggested.

Ichigo flinched for a second before responding, "She lives alone so I think we should wait until she wakes up." At that moment the bell rung and the final class was starting.

"Don't you have class, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "It's my free period so I'm done for the day," he said.

Orihime nodded before grabbing her purse. "That's good."

Noticing Orihime packing up from the corner of his eye, Ichigo looked up and frowned. Where the hell was she going when there was a sick student in here? "You going somewhere?" he asked.

"I wish I can stay and watch over Kuchiki-san but I have an important nurse meeting to go to at another school," she grabbed her papers and smiled apologetically at Ichigo, "Since you're free, can you watch over her?"

Ichigo nodded before looking back at Rukia. "Just go."

"Arigato Kurosaki-kun," she said before walking out of her office, closing the door after her.

Ichigo didn't even bother saying 'goodbye.' He was too busy watching Rukia's face which was contorted in pain. "Dumbass. That's why I told you to stay home…" He brushed aside her bangs and let out a sigh.

He stayed like that for one entire class period: checking her temperature, shifting the cold pack on her head, and waiting for her to wake up.

As soon as the bell rung, the nurse's office's door swung open and several students stumbled in.

"How is she?" Renji asked.

Ichigo looked up and shook his head. "She's still unconscious."

Renji and the others walked over and leaned over Rukia's still form. "What should we do?"

"We don't even know where she lives now," Tatsuki added, which made Ichigo's back go rigid. "How do we get her home?"

Nobody answered.

Ichigo sighed. "I suggest you guys just let her rest here until she wakes up. Then we can take her home."

"But how long will that take, Kurosaki-sensei?" Hinamori asked, "We can't all stay afterschool."

Matsumoto nodded. "We have a part-time job to go to—" she pointed at herself and Hinamori before pointing at Tatsuki, "—and she has karate class today."

"And we have kendo practice," Ikkaku said for him, Yumichika and Renji.

"Then allow me the honor to—"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Keigo," Renji glared.

Keigo immediately stiffened and let out a nervous chuckle. "No problem."

Ichigo sighed, more out of relief but they didn't have to know that. "I'll just stay and watch her then."

Tatsuki looked at him and frowned. "You sure? Don't you have lot of papers to grade?"

Ichigo shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about it since you guys can't stay here. Besides, I'm her teacher so she's my responsibility. I will make sure she gets home safe."

"Do you know where she lives?" Mizuiro asked.

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm sure her new address is in the student data. If not, I can ask her when she wakes up," he said the little lie he's been practicing in his head for the past few minutes.

Matsumoto held up her wrist and read the time. "We have to get going," she said, grabbing Hinamori's hand and dragging her away from Rukia's bed. She turned to the others and said, "I suggest you guys get going too."

Renji checked the clock on the wall and scratched the back of his head. "Maybe I should skip today…"

"No can do," Yumichika shook his glossy head, "We have a tournament coming up and if you miss it then Kenpachi-sensei will take your head."

"Psch, that guy doesn't even follow the simplest rules of Kendo when he fights so why should he care?" Renji crossed his arms across his chest and pouted.

Tatsuki slapped him over the head. "Stop babbling like an idiot. Rukia is in good hands. Ichigo used to live in a clinic so he'll take care of her, right Ichigo?" she looked at Ichigo who responded with a nod.

"Just go. There's nothing to worry about."

Renji sighed. "Fine. Just tell her to call us when she gets home," he said before grabbing his duffel bag and following Ikkaku and Yumichika out the door. But before leaving the room, he turned around and took one last look at his childhood friend, breathing heavily on the bed.

Tatsuki also grabbed her bag. "I should go, too."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, go on."

Tatsuki nodded back before looking at Keigo and Mizuiro. "You two coming?"

Mizuiro nodded. "Of course. Come Asano—"

"NO!" Keigo dramatically cried as he launched himself towards Rukia, "I will not leave my lovely princess alone with this big orange head buffoon—EUGH!" Before Keigo could go any further towards Rukia, Ichigo swung around and sent a punch straight at Keigo's face.

Tatsuki and Mizuiro automatically grabbed either arms of Keigo's unconscious body and started to drag him out.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," Tatsuki smirked, "Anyways, I'll see you later. Make sure she gets home safe, okay?"

Ichigo nodded his head before the three left the room and Tatsuki closed the door. He finally let out a sigh of relief before looking back at Rukia. He smirked as he removed the cold pack and replaced it with his hand. "You're lucky to have such great friends by your side."

"Mmm," Rukia groaned. She fidgeted to the side before slowly opening her eyes.

Startled, Ichigo leaned closer to her face and softly called out, "Rukia? You okay? Oi, can you hear me?"

Rukia swiveled her head right and left before opening her eyes completely. When her vision finally focused, she was a little startled to see Ichigo looking straight down at her at a very close proximity. "I-Ichigo?"

"Yeah it's me," Ichigo responded, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I will once you get that loud hair color of yours out of my face," Rukia groaned before lifting up her hand and shoving Ichigo's face away.

Ichigo grabbed her wrist and yanked her hand off his face. Glaring down he snapped back. "Good to know you're getting better."

Rukia groaned before looking at her surrounding. "Where am I? I swear I was in class just a second ago."

"You're in the nurse's office," Ichigo told her.

Rukia looked at him and frowned. "Why?"

"You fainted, that's why," Ichigo said, "I had to carry your fat ass all the way here all because you wouldn't listen to me about staying home."

"…" Rukia was quiet as she looked up at the clock. "School's out."

Ichigo turned around to look at the clock hanging on the wall behind him, above the door. "Yeah," he replied before looking back at Rukia. "Your friends came over here as soon as class ended and they just left." Rukia moaned as she tried to sit up but Ichigo stopped her by grabbing her shoulders. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to get up," she said, "I can't stay here all day."

Ichigo sighed before pushing her back down. "I know that. Just wait here a moment while I go grab our bags. Then we'll go home."

If it was like any other times Rukia would have argued back, but she was feeling faint again so she nodded her head and stayed put.

After being assured that she was going to stay still Ichigo rushed out of the nurse's office and went to his private office to grab his bag before going to Rukia's classroom to grab her bag. In a shocking record of only a minute, Ichigo returned to the nurse's office where Rukia was silently waiting on the bed.

"Okay," he huffed, walking over to Rukia, "Let's go home."

Rukia reluctantly allowed Ichigo to pull her out of bed. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, while carrying their bags on his other shoulder. They slowly made their way out of the school building but by the time they exited the school's gate, Rukia stopped in mid-step, leaning her full body weight against him.

"You okay?" Ichigo looked down and placed his hand against Rukia's forehead again.

"Yeah, just let me rest a bit," Rukia panted.

Ichigo sighed before placing their bags on the ground.

Rukia was taking in deep breaths with her eyes tightly shut when she felt one of her arms being lifted high and placed on something hard. "What are you doing?" she asked, peeking an eye open.

Ichigo was on his knees and had placed Rukia's arms on either side of his shoulder, pulling her up on his back. "I think we can get home faster this way."

"Wait a second," Rukia tried to pull her hands away but Ichigo just held on. "What if somebody sees us?"

"Who cares?" Ichigo yanked her forward and quickly stood up, holding the back of her knees before Rukia could get off. "I'm just taking a sick student home, that's all." He bent forward and grabbed their bags. "Here, at least hold onto these," he lifted their bags into her hands.

Rukia groaned as she grabbed their bags. Ichigo lightly jumped to lift her higher onto his back before making his way down the street.

"You do know you could get sick too if you're close to me," Rukia sighed into his shoulder.

Ichigo chuckled. "Please, I'm not stupid like you to get sick a few weeks before summer." Rukia tightened her hold around his neck, choking Ichigo from behind as a response. "Augh! Okay, I get it, I get it!" Ichigo choked. Rukia finally lightened her hold on his neck and Ichigo coughed as he started breathing again. "You really need to do something about your people skills."

"Shut up," Rukia groaned.

In a few minutes Ichigo finally turned the corner towards their apartment and kept a slow pace so Rukia wouldn't get too dizzy. But when he appeared in front of the stairs, he stopped and let out a long sigh.

Rukia looked up and chuckled. "Want me to get off?"

"No," Ichigo lifted her again and took the first step. "I can do this so just relax."

"Fine, but don't regret it later," Rukia snuggled deeper into his neck.

Ichigo sighed as he took the second step, the third, the fourth, and so forth. By the time he made midway Ichigo had to stop and jump to lift Rukia higher again on his back. "Man, I'll never take these stairs for granted again."

Rukia chuckled as she shifted her body to make it easier for Ichigo as he started the second half of the stairs. "You should have let me down awhile ago."

Ichigo only growled as he mustered the remaining of his strength, finally reaching the top of the stairs. "Ha! I told you I could make it!" Ichigo huffed as he made his way to their apartment. Rukia dug into her bag and grabbed her keys, handing it to Ichigo. He slouched forward to literally lay Rukia on his back as he took the keys in one hand and unlocked the door.

He staggered into the genkan and stumbled as he kicked his shoes off. As Ichigo stepped out of the genkan, Rukia lightly knocked her head against his head. "Ow. What?" he asked, turning his head as much as he could towards her.

Rukia lifted up her legs from either side of his hips. "Don't forget to take mine off too."

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he bent down again to rest Rukia's weight fully on his back as he took hold of her legs and pulled off her shoes. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he groaned.

"Stop complaining," Rukia snorted, "You're the one who brought this upon yourself."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Ichigo shook his head as he carried her towards her room. He reached her bed and dumped her body onto the bed.

"Augh," Rukia moaned as she rolled over to the side, "Bastard, you didn't have to drop me on the bed like that."

Ichigo just sat down next to her and let out a breath of relief. "Shut up. I'm just glad it's over." He lied down next to her and stretched his arms in front of him, trying to get some feeling back into them.

Rukia tuned over to face him. After watching him moaning and groaning as he stretched his tired muscles, she lifted her arm with much difficulty and dropped it on his face, smacking him hard on the head.

"OW!" Ichigo sat up and glared down at her. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Get off my bed," she groaned.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I carried you all the way home and this is how you thank me?"

Rukia smirked. "I didn't ask you to carry me, now did I? You did it on your own accord."

Ichigo mumbled some curses as he picked up his bag and left Rukia's room. He went to the kitchen and dropped his bag next to the table before heading over to the refrigerator to grab a nice cold drink. He finished half the bottle in a single gulp and let out a long breath when he pulled the bottle away from his lips.

As he felt some blood flowing through his body again, he grabbed his bag and made his way to his room. Dropping his stuff on his desk, Ichigo yanked his tie off and shook out off his jacket, tossing both items on the bed. Next came his shirt and his pants. Once finally free from the uncomfortable clothes that he had to wear for his job, he yanked on a pair of shorts while wearing nothing on top but the wifebeater he always wear under his dress shirt.

There were still a few weeks before summer but it was hella hot! This was baffling him even more that Rukia was sick with a flu! Ichigo went to the bathroom and opened the cupboard searching for anything that might help her. He found some medicine and a brand new cold pack. After returning to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, Ichigo quietly walked to Rukia's room and peeked in.

Kuchiki Rukia was in the same position that she was in when he left, still wearing her school uniform. Without even bothering to ask her permission Ichigo entered her room and placed the stuff on her night table, next to the bed.

"Rukia," he gently shook her shoulder, "You should get out of those clothes."

Rukia groaned as she carefully shifted to her other side.

Ichigo sighed. "Rukia, I'm serious. You're sweating through your clothes. If you don't change soon you'll get even worse.

Again, Rukia groaned, not bothering to move this time.

"Rukia, I'm serious," Ichigo said as he shook her shoulder more furiously, "If you don't do it then I'll change you," he threatened.

"Shut up and go away," Rukia mumbled.

Ichigo sighed. There was no way he would be able to get through her in this situation. So, knowing he was going to regret this later, Ichigo gently turned Rukia over and started to undo the bow in front of her uniform.

Feeling something moving against her body, Rukia strained her eyes open to see Ichigo unbuttoning the top of her blouse. "Ichigo, what are you doing?"

"Getting you out of these clothes," he replied, not even bothering to look up at her.

Rukia sighed. "Just leave it alone," she said as one of her hands came up to try and stop his fingers. But Ichigo only slapped her hand away and glared straight at her.

"Trust me," he said as his fingers continued their journey down her blouse.

"Just don't get any ideas," she sighed, giving up.

"Please, I'm not into little kids," he smirked, earning him a weak smack on the head.

Ichigo finally unbuttoned the last button. He grabbed Rukia's arms and carefully lifted her up into a sitting position, leaning her against his body.

When Rukia grunted in pain, Ichigo held her and stroked her hair. "Sorry," he whispered, trying to keep her comfortable as he slowly took off her blouse.

Rukia released a long sigh when the cool air touched her wet skin, stopping Ichigo after he tossed her blouse on the ground. His body stiffened and the hair on the back of his neck rose as she snuggled her nose into the crook of his neck, exhaling puffs of warm air. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from shivering at the feeling. But damn, a weird feeling was starting to travel down his body to…

Um…can you say 'good morning?'

Ichigo frowned, trying his best to keep any sick thought from coming into his mind. _She's sick! She's your student!_ Ichigo chanted in his head, _don't even think about it! _But hell, he was a young, attractive man who hasn't been with a woman—_NO! Don't you dare continue with that train of thought!_

"…Ichigo?" Rukia sighed against his neck.

"Y-yeah?" Ichigo choked.

"Hurry up," she moaned, "It's cold."

Ichigo swallowed and nodded his head. He grabbed the end of her soaked tank top and carefully lifted it upwards. But he made the mistake of placing his hand _under_ her top, lifting it up from underneath the shirt, feeling her sweaty skin as it went up. He gulped when the palm of his hands reached the bottom of her bra.

_She's my student! She's my student! SHE'S MY STUDENT! _He chanted like crazy in his head.

Rukia moan as Ichigo's cool hand ran up her body, bringing out goosebumps on the trail he was making. She grunted as Ichigo lifted her arms and pulled them through the thin strings. When it came time to pull it off her head, Ichigo lightly pushed her off his shoulder, catching her back with one hand and pulling the top off her head with the other.

But that was when he made the greatest mistake by looking down.

Ichigo took a big gulp when his eyes roamed up and down Rukia. Her head was hanging back, making her huff out deep breaths as her neck was fully exposed to him. Small drops of sweat made its way down from her forehead to her neck and passed her collarbone, straight down the valley between her small breasts.

Her heaving chest was going up and down, almost glowing with the sun's ray bouncing off her wet skin. And every time her chest heaved up, her breasts would lightly touch his own chest before going back down.

Ichigo could DEFINITELY feel his pants getting tighter.

Before his mind could make mental images that would make him take advantage of a sick _student_, he brought her forward, leaning against his shoulder again. But this time he slouched forward so their chests wouldn't touch. As he held onto Rukia with one arm around her shoulder, the other hand extended to the drawer next to her bed, pulling out whatever tee-shirt was on top. He pulled out a simple white shirt with a small Chappy on the top left of the shirt.

Carefully, he grabbed the back of Rukia's neck, straightening it so he could pull the shirt over her head. Rukia released a small groan, annoyed that he was making her move her aching body so much. But she stayed still as he gently caressed her arms as he pulled them through the sleeves. And as he pulled the remaining of the shirt down her body, he made sure that he didn't touch her skin this time.

"Are you done?" Rukia whispered.

Ichigo gulped. "Almost," he whispered as he laid her down on the bed.

Rukia had her eyes closed but was forced to open them when she heard a zipper going down. "What are you doing now?"

Ichigo stopped his fingers to look up at her, trying his best to hide his blush. He remained quiet before gesturing her to look down with his own eyes.

Rukia strained her eyes to look down just as Ichigo pulled the zipper down completely from the side of her skirt. If she didn't have a fever, anyone would have been able to see a red hue on her face. With his mouth still clamped closed, Ichigo kneeled at the end of her feet. He grabbed the end of her skirt and Rukia lifted up her hip slightly to help him slide the skirt down her legs completely.

This time, Ichigo had already mentally prepared himself to not look at her hips or anything else in that region. Instead, after he pulled down the skirt an inch, he kept his eyes focused on her knees. Thankfully she was wearing a pair of shorts underneath but that didn't mean the actual act of taking _off_ her skirt wouldn't bring naughty and _wrong_ images in his mind. Once the skirt was off, he quickly grabbed the comforter that was off to one side and covered her up to the middle of her body.

"You can go to sleep now," he mumbled, keeping his head low to hide his blush, "I only have to place the cold pack on your head."

Rukia nodded as she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to take over her.

As soon as Ichigo heard her even breathing, he let out a sigh of relief. He finally looked up to see Rukia sleeping with a contorted expression. He let out a frustrated sigh this time as he placed the cool pack on her forehead. Rukia took in a sharp breath at the sudden coldness but soon relaxed as it cooled her face.

Ichigo silently and carefully tended to her for the next several hours, barely leaving her side. After the sun finally went down did Ichigo lightly shook Rukia's shoulder, waking her up.

"Mmmm, what do you want?" she groaned.

Ichigo helped her sit up with one hand while holding a bowl of soup in the other. "You have to eat something if you want to take your medicine."

Rukia groaned, trying to lie back down. "I don't feel like eating."

"Shut up and just eat. It will help you get better faster," he said as he sat behind her to stop her from lying down. His arms and legs took place either side of her, keeping the covers around her small body. Ichigo got a spoonful of soup and brought it up to his lips to blow on it. Once it cooled down a bit, he brought it back down near Rukia's lips. "Here."

Rukia grunted as she opened her chapped lips and took the spoon into her mouth.

Ichigo smiled as he got another spoonful of soup, repeating the process to feed Rukia. It took a lot more of his bitching to get her to eat at least half a bowl of soup, but that was better than nothing.

"Ichigo," she sighed as she leaned her head back and away from the soup, "I had enough. Please just leave me alone."

Ichigo sighed. "Fine." He returned the spoon into the bowl and placed it on her nightstand.

Rukia was waiting for Ichigo to leave so she could lie back down but the man stayed still. "Ichigo? Why aren't you leaving?"

"Sorry but you can't lie down yet," he said as he reached over and grabbed the pills and water. "You need to take these first. Then you have to stay up so they can all go down into your stomach and digest."

Rukia groaned. But before she could retort, Ichigo held up a small pill up against her mouth. She reluctantly allowed him to push it in between her lips and tilted her head back after taking some water into her mouth. "Can I sleep now?"

"Yeah," he answered, leaning back against the headboard and Rukia leaning back into him. "I'll leave in a bit."

Rukia snuggled deeper into his body. "Just don't blame me if you get sick," she chuckled before closing her eyes.

The aftermath was better than what Rukia expected. She leaned against Ichigo's hard chest and relaxed as he wrapped his limbs around her body to keep her warm. She soon fell asleep as the medicine that she took slowly took affect. And Ichigo sat like that for several more hours until he felt like she was well enough to lie back down.

For the rest of the night Ichigo sat by her side, tending to her every second she needed him. Luckily there was no school the next day, which was a Saturday. He would wake her up to give her more medicine, change the water in the cool pack for some ice, and change her clothes every time she sweated through her shirts. Of course Ichigo learned from his first mistake so he was able to keep his eyes on something else, constantly chanting _she's my student!_ in his head like a mantra.

Luckily Rukia was too busy going in and out of consciousness to realize anything.

---

Rukia rose up that morning with the sun shining warmly against her face. She sat up and stretched her arms above her.

"Eugh," she moaned, "That was a nice nap." She scratched the back of her head and looked around. It was only two days ago that she was feeling like shit. Thankfully Ichigo was next to her twenty-four/seven, changing the pack on her head and feeding her porridge so she could take her medicine with something in her stomach to help her digest.

She swung her legs out of the bed and stood up, no longer feeling dizzy. She placed her hand on her forehead to feel her temperature only to notice it felt normal.

"Thank god," she breathed out as she made her way to the bathroom to get ready for a fresh new day. While brushing her teeth, she thought back to the past two days which was still hazy.

The first day Ichigo never left her side. He kept checking on her until he fainted on the ground. The second day was no different, but this time Rukia shouted at him to go sleep in his room. Of course the stubborn bastard won't move. But Rukia was finally able to make him leave when she showed him that her temperature went down a _lot_.

Now, she was feeling much better, and although she doesn't want to admit it, it was all thanks to that orange head…well, also her strong will to get better fast.

Rukia rinsed her mouth and dried her face with a towel before making her way to the kitchen. "Ichigo? Did you make breakfast yet…" Rukia stopped midstep when she noticed nobody was there. In fact, it seemed like nobody's been in the kitchen all day.

Sensing something was wrong, she looked over to check the clock on the wall.

It was 11:00 am, Sunday.

Ichigo should have been up by now.

Cautiously, Rukia made her way to Ichigo's room. She stood in front of his door and leaned her ear against it. There was no sound coming from within the room so she knocked on it lightly and waited for an answer.

"…"

Rukia knocked again, but this time a lot harder. "Ichigo! Wake up!" Her hand stopped moving when she suddenly heard a grunting noise from inside. Worried, Rukia opened the door and stuck her head inside. "Ichigo?"

The orange head was buried deep under his covers, not moving but moaning and groaning.

She entered the room and walked over. "Oi, you okay?" she asked as she gently peeled his covers off of him. And below her was a pale Ichigo with his hair sticking onto him like a second skin because of his sweat. "Ichigo?"

Ichigo groaned as he opened one of his eyes. "Leave me alone," he groaned in a husky voice.

Rukia placed a hand on his forehead. "You're heating up."

"Not shit, Captain Obvious," he groaned.

Rukia glared before releasing why he was suddenly sick. "Don't tell me you got it from me," she grinned.

"…" Ichigo sighed, turning away from her.

"Who's the dumbass now?"

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo yelled, burying his head under the pillow.

Rukia smirked. "I told you, you would catch it. It's your fault."

"…whatever," Ichigo groaned.

* * *

A/N: Again, just a fluff chapter that's leading up to the romance later on. I'm not entirely happy since I was rushed to upload this chapter . And I couldn't present the full image in my head into writing so I'm a bit frustrated.

Oh well! Hope you guys liked it. Please review and let me know what you think! (but be gentle ^^)

Preivew for next chapter:

Summer break= Beach= Romance under the moonlight with a crazy person screaming in the background about grandchildren— wait, what?!


	9. 09 Summer Break I

**Author's Note: MUWHAHAHA! I think I broke another record!!!!! (though I can't help but wonder how long this is going to last). Anyways, THANK YOU so much for all the reviews and sympathy comments you guys!! It really brought up my mood this week. And just to clarify, I really wasn't attacking anyone specific. Most of those negative comments are from PMs so those who might have thought it was you, it's not. So please don't leave my story and don't think bad of me. I still love all of you guys.**

**Here's the summer break story I told you guys about. And yes, many of you guys have guessed who's going to appear. However, that's not until later and it's only for a short while. More of this person will be revealed in the next chapter.**

**This chapter starts out long and lagging but it gets better. And it just totally pumps you up, wanting to know what happens next since some _unexpected _moments appear.**

**PS. Those who are a bit confused about the ages, here's a little something I figured out before I wrote the story:**

**Rukia and friends are seniors in high school so they're 18 or 19.**

**Ichigo and his pals are around 25, an average _youngest_ age for Japanese teachers.**

**Hope this makes a better picture for you guys.  
**

**Please read and review!!!!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 9: Summer Break I

* * *

Rukia cheered as she jumped around the apartment.

Ichigo yawned, scratching an itch under his shirt, while watching his housemate from his doorway. "What's up with you?"

"IT'S SUMMER BREAK!" She squealed, jumping around even more.

"Che, what's so special about that," Ichigo said as he made his way out of his room, "You still have homework to do. Which reminds me, I'm still waiting for you to turn in your paper—"

Rukia quickly shoved a piece of fruit into Ichigo's mouth and looked at him with an evil smirk. "Don't you dare mess up my precious summer break with that homework-crap. Bring that up again and I promise it won't be an apple I shove down your throat next time." When Ichigo responded with a nod, Rukia went back to jumping around.

Ichigo took the apple out of his mouth and took a big bite out of it as he watched Rukia squealing this and that about summer break. He rolled his eyes after hearing her say something about Chappy about five times before making his way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

After recovering from their stupid flu, Ichigo and Rukia suffered another month of school before the last bell rung, signaling the start of their one-month summer break. Heck, even the principle was squealing with joy, running out of the school building even faster than his students.

Ichigo continued to silently make breakfast while Rukia continued her celebration dance in the living room. He finally decided to stop her when everything was ready. "Oi midget! Hurry up and eat before your food gets cold."

Rukia, totally ignoring the fact he called her a midget again, skipped over to the table and sat in her usual seat across Ichigo. "Itadekimasu!" she thanked for her food and quickly dug in.

Ichigo couldn't drop the smirk on his face. They've been living together for a more than a month and it still surprised him to see her acting so carefree…and ill-mannered, which was totally different from the innocent act she pulled at school. It seemed only her closest friends knew her real image.

_Ring ring ring!_

Ichigo looked up from his food to see the house phone ringing off its base. He groaned as he stood up and stomped over to it. Rukia wasn't allowed to use the house phone because somebody could trace the call back to him, revealing the fact that they're living together. So that meant it had to be _him_ who had to get up from a good meal to answer a freaking call.

"Moshi-moshi," he sighed, ignoring the smirk on Rukia's face.

"_Ano, Kurosaki-kun?"_

Ichigo raised a brow. "Yes. Who is this?"

"_Ah, it's me, Orihime!" _she giggled on the other line.

Ichigo tried to keep his scowl away, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it on the other end. "A-ah, ohayo…Inoue," he nervously chuckled. Rukia, who's been too busy stuffing her mouth with food suddenly stopped upon hearing the busty woman's name. She looked over to see an uneasy look on her teacher. Ichigo only shrugged his shoulders as he went back to the call. "What's with the call?"

There was a pause before Orihime started to speak again, but this time stuttering as if she was nervous. "_Eto…Ano…"_

Ichigo remained as patient as he could because he knew that that girl had a tendency of taking _forever_ to speak her mind, especially to him. So he stood silently with the phone in his hand. But he never expected Rukia to suddenly sneak up behind him to push the 'Speaker' button on the phone base. "Hey!" he shouted at her, totally forgetting about being careful.

"_Kurosaki-kun?"_

"Ah, sorry, Inoue; you were saying?" Ichigo quickly replied while throwing death glares at the midget. But she promptly ignored him, her entire focus on the phone.

"_Ah, right, well…"_

Rukia was about to explode. Seriously! Yeah she knew the nurse was a bit of a klutz but why was she taking forever to speak! Not to mention she sounded like she was…blushing?

But for Ichigo, he was more focused on Rukia as she started to glare at the phone. Correction; at Inoue. He didn't know why she seemed mad at his old friend but he just knew she was. And she looked about ready to explode… oh shit!

"_Eto…_"

"OH—"

Ichigo quickly jumped forward to stop Rukia from speaking by grabbing her jaw but lost his footing and fell straight down to the ground. The two tumbled down along with the phone. Ichigo was able to quickly turn his body so his back landed on the ground first, but then got the air knocked out of him when Rukia's body fell on top of him.

"_Kurosaki-kun? Are you alright? What was all that noise?" _Orihime shouted from the phone that landed directly by his head.

Before replying Ichigo looked down to see Rukia glaring from on top of his chest. He knew she would be kicking and yelling at him right about now if he hadn't kept his hand enclosed around her mouth. So instead she ended up giving him the coldest glare, a promise to kill him once he lets her go.

Ichigo responded with his own glare, telling her it was her fault in the first place. "Ah, wa li," Ichigo groaned out to Orihime, "I just dropped something."

"_Oh! Well as long as you're not hurt."_

Rukia scowl deepened. WHY THE FUCK DID SHE SOUND SO RELIEVED! Heck, if that big-boobed bimbo was to see exactly what _kind_ of situation Ichigo was in at that moment, she doubted she would be sounding so happy about now. Rukia couldn't help smirking at the thought.

Ichigo, who's been looking down at Rukia the entire time, raised a quizzical brow when he felt her lips tug upwards into a smirk against his hand. _What is this bitch planning now?_ "Inoue, can you please hurry up and tell me what you called for? I'm pretty busy right now."

"_Oh, you are? But it's summer."_

She sounded disappointed!

Another point for Rukia! Wait a second…what?!

Ichigo sighed. "Inoue…" he groaned, showing his obvious impatience.

"_Ah, sorry! Okay, well I was just, um, wondering if you…if you had any special plans for this summer!" _she finally asked, "_I was planning on going to Okinawa and I wanted to know if you would like to come with me!"_

Both Ichigo and Rukia were very still, registering her words into their brains.

Okinawa?

Together?

1 + 1 = 2!

"Um, Inoue," Ichigo grumbled, "That's—"

"_I_-_I was planning on inviting Sado-kun and Ishida-kun too!_" She quickly added, but this time her voice stuttered a bit, _"It can be like a reunion amongst us four!"_

Ichigo sighed. _This is getting old, fast,_ he thought to himself. He suddenly felt really uncomfortable as if all his energy suddenly swept out of him. _This_ is what Inoue did to him: even with her never-ceasing smile she always made him feel burnt out and exhausted. Unconsciously he slipped his hand away from Rukia's jaw and dropped his head onto the carpeted floor. "Sorry Inoue but I have plans."

Rukia, who was too busy thinking about what _exactly _Orihime might be planning with this so-called reunion trip with Ichigo, got startled when Ichigo suddenly announced he already had plans.

"_Ah—oh, really?_" Inoue stuttered.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, "So you can go to Okinawa with Chad and Ishida without me. Besides, I wouldn't be doing much over there anyways."

"_B-b-but! Kuro—"_

"I'll see you when breaks over," Ichigo interjected before reaching over with his limp hand to turn off the phone, not even bothering to hear the rest of Orihime's reasoning. When the phone finally went off, the house became dead silent, neither of the two occupants of the place bothering to move or breath.

Ichigo, never really liking these silent moments with Rukia (since he grew up in a noisy household to begin with and he's been having that sort of 'relationship' with Rukia from the start), let out a longer sigh and looked down at her. "What?" he growled.

Rukia, who's been looking up at him the entire time, frowned. "I didn't know you already had plans for the summer."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Dumbass, I just said that to get out of Inoue's 'vacation plans.'"

This time Rukia raised an eyebrow. "You're making it sound like—"

"Like I'm trying to avoid her?" Ichigo finished her question before nodding. "Yeah, I am."

"But, why? Aren't you two friends?" Rukia didn't know why she was suddenly defending the brunette… but hell; she didn't even know why she hated that person in the first place!

"Well," Ichigo groaned, "She used to have a crush on me back in high school—don't give me that look," he glared at her after receiving a 'who-would-ever-like-an-idiot-like-you?' look from her. "I don't even know why she liked me out of all the guys at our school. But the thing was, I didn't see her anything beyond a friend…well, to be more exact, nothing more beyond a _classmate._ But she kept following me and my friends around that by the time we graduated she natural became part of our group," he cringed at the memory.

When Ichigo paused to clear out his thoughts, Rukia tried to imagine what Ichigo just told her. And yes, she could see Inoue-sensei chasing after Ichigo. "Did she ever confess to you? I mean, how did you know she liked you?"

"Well, only a month before our graduation she took me to the back of the school and confessed to me, asking me to date her." Ichigo and Rukia both couldn't stop a frown from appearing, though they directed it to opposite sides so the other person couldn't see it, "Of course I reject her, and I later found out that she not only liked me, but literally _loved _me."

Rukia couldn't help but smirk when Ichigo said the last part as if it tasted bitter in his mouth.

"Since then she became even more obsessed with me to the point I really wanted to call the cops. But," he sighed, "She was a good friend so I just pretended like it never bothered me. But in fact, it annoys me."

"'Annoys?' Like in present-tense?" Rukia asked.

"I'm not sure about that but according to Ishida it could be possible," Ichigo sighed.

Rukia glared at the now-silent phone. "Crazy bitch," she muttered, but Ichigo was able to pick it out.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," she quickly replied, resting her head under his chin to continue her glaring contest with the phone, imagining it was the busty young nurse that never really appealed to her in general. And in Rukia's mind she was winning, with images of Orihime slowly being choked with the phone cord.

Ichigo poked her cheek, trying to get her attention. "Hey midget, I know you said 'crazy bitch.' Now, mind explaining why?"

Rukia pouted, still not looking away from the phone. "I don't like her."

"Why?"

Rukia finally looked at him, but her eyes were criticizing him. "You of all people should know the answer to that question. She annoys me too and I can never figure out what's going on in that chicken-head of her's."

Ichigo chuckled. "Is that all?"

"…" Rukia looked away, suddenly feeling her face heating up, "…No…" she mumbled.

"Ah, is the midget princess jealous?" Ichigo teased when she didn't reply.

"Psh, as if I'd get jealous over someone like you," she scoffed.

"Who said anything about it being about me," Ichigo smirked, earning a death glare from the midget, "Well, mind getting off of me now? My legs are starting to cramp."

Rukia looked down to see his legs in an awkward position and very obviously getting cramped, before pushing herself up.

Once she was far away, Ichigo stood up and walked back to the table to continue his breakfast which was cold now. He looked at Rukia, who was already seated, and asked what's been in his mind for some time. "So what are your plans for the summer?"

Rukia, who had her chopsticks halfway up her mouth, froze before looking at him. "What?"

"Your summer break," he articulated each word as if talking to an old man, "Any plans?"

Rukia quickly kicked him under the table. "As for your information, no, I don't have plans for break."

Ichigo groaned as he rubbed his bruising leg. "What about family or friends?"

Rukia shrugged. "Niisama is going to the U.S. so there's no reason to visit his place. And almost all of my friends have sports tournament to attend so nothing much is going to happen with them either."

Ichigo nodded, taking into account that she seemed completely _free_ during break.

"What about you?" she asked, "I know you said you told Inoue-sensei that you did but you didn't specify."

Ichigo grunted. "Well I'm supposed to visit my family in Tokyo but that would mean I'd have to meet my old man, so no, not going anywhere near that place."

Rukia chuckled. "Why? Is he the type to embarrass you or hit you?"

"Both," Ichigo groaned, rubbing his face to try and rid of the memories of his father, "And you don't want to meet him, ever."

Rukia grinned but nodded.

Ichigo nodded back before continuing where he left off. "I was actually planning on visiting the summer house that my mother used to own before she passed away," he announced, "It's located at a private beach only two hours away from here by car."

Rukia's eyes widened at the news.

Summer house?

Private beach?

Ichigo smirked as he read the sudden interest in her eyes. "Wanna come with me?"

"Yes!" Rukia replied rather too quickly, "I mean, can I?"

Ichigo nodded. "I don't see why not. If I leave you here my family might suddenly come over, leaving you in a tight spot. And besides, when I turned old enough the beach house was passed down to me so I practically own that place now."

"Really?!" Rukia grinned like a child given a huge piece of candy without even having to ask her parents for one, "Then when can we leave?"

Ichigo looked over at the clock. "We can leave as soon as today if you want—"

"HURRY UP AND PACK UP!" Rukia shouted back to him as she ran to her room to pack up for the long stay at a private beach.

Ichigo, who was now alone at the kitchen table, was still a bit shocked when the midget suddenly ran off as if the apartment was on fire. When he got back his senses he smirked while picking up the dishes to get them cleaned before leaving for a much needed vacation.

"Ichigo! Hurry up!" Rukia shouted at him from her room, realizing he was washing the dishes when she heard the water running.

"Alright, alright," Ichigo shouted back, "Calm down! It's not like the beach is going anywhere!"

"I don't care! It's been almost ten years since I last gone to the beach so this is a very happy moment for me!" she defended herself.

Ichigo slowly made his way to her room and leaned against the open door to watch her pack. "You don't have to take all that stuff," he pointed to her bed that was dumped with whole bunch of unnecessary items such as her Chappy toys, Chappy slippers, Chappy coloring book, Chappy pencil holder, Chappy nail polish—anything Chappy-related was NOT necessary!!

Rukia, who was rummaging through her closet, looked over at her bed and frowned. "Well, I don't know what's over there, so—"

"You can use my sisters' room which already has a bed and blanket," Ichigo tried to explain the house to help her figure out what she might and might not need, "There's also tons of towels so don't take those. Cups, plates etc. are already there so no need to pack any of those stuffs either. We can go to the store near that place to buy some food and other small essentials if they're not at home."

Rukia nodded. "I guess that means I only need to bring my clothes and sun cream." She frowned at the thought of taking so little. "You sure I don't need to pack anything else?" she looked at him.

Ichigo shook his head. "It's not like we're moving over there. We'll mostly stay there for two weeks so just bring extra clothes, maybe a book or two to read, but other than that there really isn't a need to bring so much stuff."

Rukia pouted, still thinking she was forgetting something, but reluctantly nodded.

Satisfied, Ichigo went to his room to start packing his stuff as well. As he grabbed the small duffel bag from his closet, he eyed the papers he had to grade on top of his desk. He stared at the stack for a few seconds before walking over to organize them and stuff them into another backpack that he was planning on taking with him.

Who said you can't do work while on vacation?

…Damn he needed a life.

---

Urahara smiled as he let out a long, relieving sigh.

The day was going really well.

Especially with a newly installed air conditioner!

Now his little store was winning the battle against the hot summer as the cool air surrounded him. "Ahhhh, this is really nice."

"If you don't turn that thing off every now and then it's going to break down again."

Urahara turned around to see Yoruichi entering the room, wearing a very revealing outfit: a pair of shorty shorts that was barely an inch down her hips, and a simple sports bra on top.

"Kya! What are you wearing, Yoruichi-chan?" Urahara hid his blushing face and looked away, squealing like a little shy girl. "You're such a pervert!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "Don't act like a shy virgin. We both know how long it's been since you lost _that_."

Urahara grinned at her with no evidence of a blush on his cheeks. "Touché, my love."

_Ding!_

"Iratshaimasen!" Urahara shouted a welcome at the sound of the chime ringing as the front door of his store swung open and a customer entered. "Ara, what might I do for you today, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked back and forth between the two other people occupying the room and groaned. "Can't you be more careful? What if somebody else came in and saw you?" he asked directly to the woman.

Yoruichi smirked. "Ah, thanks for caring about me, Ichigo. But I'm old enough to wear whatever I want so don't mother me."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You two will never change, huh?" He walked towards Urahara and extended his hand. "Anyways, I need to borrow your car for two weeks."

"Ara, so direct to the point," he giggled, "I do like being the frail one in a relationship."

"Of course you do," Yoruichi grinned at him.

"When will you two ever grow up," Ichigo groaned, "Are you going to give me the car or not? I know you don't even drive that thing so it shouldn't be a problem."

Urahara looked at him with an evil grin. "And just what were you planning on doing with the car? Planning on taking a little innocent girl on a date?"

Ichigo raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked totally confused at the man's mischievous tone. "What are you talking about?"

"Why, don't act all shy Kurosaki-kun. We all know who's been staying at your place for the past month. Or should I say a certain _student_?" he emphasized.

Ichigo visibly stiffened. "H-how'd you know about that, Urahara?"

The store owner giggled at his 'freaking-out' expression. "My, Kurosaki-kun, have you forgotten who I'm good friends with?"

Ichigo didn't say anything but shook his head. _Who _he's friends with? Why, that could range from his crazy father to people he never met before!

Yoruichi, annoyed at the slow thinking-process of the boy, slapped the back of his head. "You idiot. He's talking about me! Your landlady!"

"Oh, you," Ichigo glared, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if only you let Rukia actually move in with you," he glared, "You're never there anyways. You're always here."

Yoruichi smirked. "Sorry but my cats wouldn't have like the new intruder. Which reminds me," she reached behind the door and pulled out a stack of mail, "here's her weekly mail."

"Thanks," Ichigo groaned. Since Rukia couldn't list that they were living together, Yoruichi allowed Rukia to use her address as her new home address, even though they don't even live together. It was only to cover up the truth from their school.

"I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out," Urahara grinned.

Ichigo sighed when realized what this might entail. If Urahara knew about this 'juicy' detail then he just might… He quickly glared at the older man and sneered, "You better not tell anyone or else I'll—"

"Ah, kill me?" Urahara interrupted with an amused look. "You should know by now that your threats don't work on me anymore. I've been hearing them ever since you were little and it never scared me."

"True," Ichigo smirked, "But I wasn't going to say that."

Urahara's amusement slowly disappeared. _He couldn't be talking about…_

"I was planning on taking your precious hat and give it to Chad's stupid bird so it can make a nest out of it and shit into it—"

"NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!" Urahara cried, suddenly kneeling before Ichigo and pulling on his arm, begging for mercy, "I promise I won't tell a single soul, Kurosaki-kun!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "You really know how to go straight for the 'balls.'"

Ichigo nodded. "Now that we got that straight—" he extended his hand, "—give me the keys to the car."

"Here," Urahara quickly handed it over, now knowing the great hold Ichigo had over his head, literally.

Ichigo quickly took the keys. "Thanks. I'll return it to you in a few weeks." He quickly made his way to the door.

But just as his hand reached it, Yoruichi suddenly called out to him. "Good luck getting laid!"

Ichigo turned back abruptly, his face completely red. "W-wh-what the fuck?!"

Yoruichi grinned while patting Urahara on the head, who was still crying. "You heard me. I know where you're planning on going with your little student. It might be frowned upon but I think it's kind of kinky."

Urahara suddenly jumped to his feet, feeling all better. "Not to mention it's one of our favorite kinds of role-play in the bedroom."

"Eugh! You need to keep that kind of stuff to yourself!" Ichigo yelled, the red extending down to his neck.

Yoruichi smirked. "Fine we will but that doesn't mean we weren't serious about you getting laid."

"You dumbass, that's got nothing to do with why Rukia's going with me!" Ichigo snapped at them.

"Ah, so you admit you're going with her!" Urahara smirked.

"I—you—FUCK YOU!" Ichigo yelled back before quickly exiting the store.

Urahara grinned as he looked over at Yoruichi. "I wonder if he realizes we were actually being serious for once."

Yoruichi chuckled, "He's too oblivious about his feelings. And it'll be awhile before he can convince her to join him in bed."

Urahara nodded, fanning himself despite the air conditioner still working behind him. "I really should update Kurosaki-san about this new development. I'm sure he would like to know that his son is going to turn into a man soon."

"But you promised never to tell anyone about him and Kuchiki living together," Yoruichi smirked, "Or did you already forget about his threat to destroy your precious hat."

Urahara grinned widely. "True…but you made no such promise, now did you my dear?"

Yoruichi grinned back. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

---

Ichigo sighed as he turned the corner down the street and into the freeway. The day started out great but Urahara and Yoruichi just had to open their big mouths to make things difficult for him.

"You okay?"

Ichigo glanced to the side before quickly looking back at the road before him. "Ah, don't worry about it."

Rukia, who was seated in the passenger seat, raised an eyebrow. "But you've been sighing the entire time since you got this car from Urahara. Did he do something stupid again?"

"You could say that," Ichigo nodded as he pressed on the accelerator a bit more.

Rukia grinned. "Well, you know he's just an old, perverted shopkeeper so just ignore him."

_Meanwhile…_

_Somewhere in the store, Urahara let out a loud sneeze._

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, you're right."

_Meanwhile…part II_

_Another sneeze escaped him, this time earning a weird stare from Yoruichi. He wiped his runny nose and shrugged his shoulders. "Allergies?" _

_But the woman shook her head. "More like someone talking shit about you…like always."_

"Anyways, tell me what this place is like," Rukia asked, leaning comfortable against her seat.

Ichigo nodded but kept his eye in front of him the entire time. "Like I said, it's a private beach that my mother inherited from her grandparents. And apparently it passed down to me once I was old enough. It's less than half a mile away from the public beach and the main town. The house is only one floor, but it's spacious with a patio outside and three bedrooms: one that used to be for my parents, one for me and one for my two sisters to use together. You'll be using theirs."

Rukia looked outside the window as she tried to imagine this place. "Did you and your family visit this place often?"

"Used to," Ichigo replied, a small frown appearing on his face, "Every summer we went over there but when my mom died that tradition kind of died with her."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, don't worry too much about it. My dad used to take my sisters there after that incident, but not as often as we used to. And I'm pretty much the only one who doesn't go there anymore, even though I own the place now."

Rukia nodded. "I see. Well, I can understand why you wouldn't want to go there especially with all the memories."

"Good to know there's someone who can see from my point of view," Ichigo smirked.

"But why did you decide to suddenly go now?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I just wanted to get some fresh air and I thought it be best at the beach." He looked over at Rukia to see her trying to cover her yawn with her hand. "Why don't you close your eyes for a bit? We still have more than an hour and a half left before we reach there."

"No, I'm fine," she yawned again.

Ichigo smirked. "You sure don't look 'fine' to me."

"Shut up," she scowled.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Stubborn as ever," he mumbled.

Rukia tried to stifle each of her yawns as she talked with Ichigo about school, apartment rent, how horrible of a driver Ichigo was, how incredibly short she was (of course by this time they were more arguing and yelling then talking), and the possibility of them living together getting revealed.

"I told you not to worry too much about that," Ichigo groaned, "We won't get caught."

"But what if we do?" Rukia frowned. "My friends have been bugging me nonstop about visiting my new place and I'm running out of excuses."

"I thought that one where your _roommate_ didn't like unwanted visitors was a pretty good one. Yoruichi is really like that."

Rukia sighed. "But they're not buying it now. They just want me to invite them when _she's_ not there."

Ichigo frowned. "Those friends of yours are pretty persistent."

"Yeah, and extremely overprotective of me," Rukia added.

"That's not a bad thing," Ichigo smirked at her.

Rukia looked at him and smiled. "No, I guess not. But it is when they're trying to come over to _our_ place."

Ichigo laughed. "Don't worry. As long as we're careful we won't get caught."

Rukia nodded as she looked out the window, the trees and towns passing by them in blurry images. Soon, before she knew it, her eyes began to close.

After a few minutes of silence, Ichigo, with his eyes still on the road, tried to reach for the water bottle near the passenger's side. "Hey, do you think you can hand me that—" Ichigo quickly looked over but stopped when he saw Rukia's head resting against the car window, eyes closed and chest rising and falling in a slow pattern. He had to go back and forth between Rukia and the road several times to register fully into his head that she was asleep. He couldn't help but smirk and shake his head. "I told you, you were tired."

---

_Rukia giggled as she ran across the beach, her tiny feet splashing in the water with each step she took._

"_Rukia! Don't go too far!"_

_The little raven-haired girl turned around to wave back. "Oneesan! Niisama! Hurry up!" she shouted with the biggest smile on her face. She was running backwards when suddenly she stepped on a slippery stone, causing her to lose her footing and fall over. "AHH!"_

"_RUKIA!"_

_But before the little girl fell into the cold water, a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her back onto her feet. Rukia looked up and smiled. "Niisama! You rescued me!"_

_Byakuya sighed as he knelt before her. "Rukia, your sister told you not to run too far from us. If I didn't make it in time you would have gotten your new dress wet."_

"_Gomen," Rukia smiled before turning back to her sister. "Oneesan! I'm fine—"_

_Rukia's words got cut off abruptly when her sister, who was running towards them, slowly started to stagger and cough really hard, coming to a full halt. Then, her body suddenly became weightless and she started to fall towards the ground like a lifeless doll. Just like Byakuya had done to save Rukia, he dashed over and quickly caught his wife before she could hit the sand._

_But little Rukia was unable to move even a finger when she saw her sister's ghostly expression. She felt tears crashing out of her eyes like the waves behind her. "HISANA-NEESAN!" She cried with all her might._

_Her sister and brother-in-law were only a few feet in front of her but she could not muster the strength to reach them. Instead she stood in her spot and cried out loud, wiping away the non-ceasing tears with the back of her tiny hands. She could feel the dreadful atmosphere surrounding their once relaxing beach vacation._

"_Rukia…"_

_She continued crying but nobody was paying attention._

"_Hey Rukia…"_

_She could barely make out the image of Byakuya calling for an ambulance as he carefully picked up his unconscious wife, his usual calm self completely gone._

"_Rukia…Rukia…_Rukia!"

Rukia jolted awake and came face to face with Ichigo. "W-what?" she huffed, her chest rising and falling at inhumane pace.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed as he watched her trying to regain control of her breathing. "You okay?" he asked. Only few seconds ago he started to freak out when he heard Rukia moaning next to him as if in pain. So he immediately started to wake her, and became even more persistent when she suddenly cried 'Hisana-neesan.'

Rukia slowly nodded, taking in a deep breath before responding. "Yeah, I just had a bad dream, that's all."

"I don't think this was any normal bad dream," he said before reaching over to wipe some sweat off her brow.

Rukia looked away. "I'm okay, really."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I just—" Her voice got caught up in her throat when she looked up and saw what was out the window.

Immediately noticing the change in her expression, Ichigo smirked. "We're here."

Forgetting about the nightmare she just had, Rukia quickly undid her seat belt and bolted out of the car, heading towards the vast ocean. She kicked off her shoes and stepped on the warm sand, wiggling her toes into it before running off towards the water, squealing like a little child as she splashed around.

Ichigo got out of Urahara's car and leaned over the roof, smiling as he watched Rukia playing at the edge of the beach. _She's still a little kid…_he thought.

"ICHIGO!"

He looked up and waved back at Rukia who was waving at him.

"ICHIGO! Hurry up!" she laughed as she continued splashing around.

No longer able to contain himself, Ichigo kicked off his shoes next to Rukia's and quickly ran towards her. Once he reached there, he kicked at the water, spraying Rukia with the ocean's salty water. Rukia squealed before attacking him the same way.

Maybe they were both little kids that just needed happier memories at the beach.

---

"What else do we need?"

Rukia looked at the list and frowned. "We still need to get shampoo and conditioner. You only brought enough to last us a few days."

Ichigo scowled. "Great, more money out of my wallet."

"Stop complaining," Rukia elbowed him in the ribs.

Ichigo yelped in pain, nearly dropping all the bags he was carrying back home from the supermarket that they were just at.

After fooling around in the waters for a while, they finally went (more like Ichigo pulling a reluctant Rukia) towards his single-storey house sitting only a few yards away from the sandy beach, which was surrounded by tall trees to give it the private that came with the title 'private beach'. After getting settled in, they started to make a list of things that they needed to survive on, especially food. They walked towards the nearest local town where they bought things ranging from ingredients to DVDs and to swimsuits. By the time everything was done, the sun was setting over the horizon, signaling the near ending of the day.

Ichigo's eyebrow furrowed in doubt as he opened one of the bags and peered inside to stare at some of the weird looking vegetables she bought. "What exactly are you planning to make? I don't think I've ever seen these things before."

"You ask too much question," Rukia scoffed, "I know what I'm doing so stop complaining."

"How can I not? Everything you make is suspicious—," Ichigo mumbled but Rukia heard his comment and quickly stepped on his foot. "OW! Watch where you're going, midget!"

"Hmph, you deserved it and you know it," she crossed her arms and continued on ahead of Ichigo.

The orange head scowled, massaging his foot from the immense pain. He was wearing a pair of sandals and so Rukia's sandals were a lot more painful than days when he wore sneakers. Muttering as many curses as he knew, Ichigo followed Rukia as they exited the town and came into the view of the beach again.

Rukia immediately smiled at the view.

Ichigo, seeing the change in her expression again, raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you and the beach anyways? Just looking at it is making you smile like a creepy little kid."

Rukia ignored his last comment and decided to answer his question with a smile. "Like I said earlier today: I haven't been to the beach in over ten years. Just seeing it makes me feel…I don't know, so carefree."

"I really think you're mental now. How can a beach change someone's attitude so quickly, even if they haven't seen it in years?" Ichigo snorted, "Does looking at a picture of a beach enough to put you in a happy mode? Because if it does, I'll have to carry it around with me all the time."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You really need do something about that stupidity of yours."

Ichigo smirked. "Who's stupid? I'm just saying that it's good to see you starting to act the age your height is entailing—OW! I said stop doing that!" he screamed after Rukia stepped on his foot again, but this time with more force.

"Then stop commenting about my height!" she shouted.

Ichigo was about to retort when _it_ struck him.

Rukia backed off when she saw that smug look on his face. "What?" she asked as she slowly started to feel uncomfortable.

"Che," Ichigo smirked, "So you ARE self-conscious about your height."

Rukia's face reddened. "A-am not! I'm fine the way I am!"

"Sure you are," he said sarcastically, "You only hit me when I comment about your height because you want to stretch out your new shoes."

Rukia glared. "And what about you? I'm sure you're self conscious about that blinding hair color of yours!"

"This?" he pointed at the bush on top of his head. "Please, I really don't give a damn."

Rukia felt steam shooting out of her ears. "SHUT UP!" she screamed before stomping towards the house again. She could hear Ichigo laughing behind her as he followed her lead. He didn't stop and it was irritating her more and more with each passing second that once she reached the front patio of the house Rukia grabbed one of her sandals and chucked it at Ichigo's face before retreating into the house.

"EUGH!" After getting hit straight in the face Ichigo fell over with all the bags in his hands. He was on his ass, rubbing his sore jaw as he watched Rukia disappear into the house. "Fucking bitch," he grunted. _Where did she learn to throw that hard?_

"ICHIGO! HURRY UP!" Rukia shouted through the open door.

"Alright alright," he groaned, slowly picking up all the bags he dropped and making his way back inside. He went over to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.

Rukia quickly came over and started rummaging through the stuff they just bought. "Here," she handed him some items, "Take these to the bathroom…and these are yours…I need these…" she mumbled on as she organized everything.

Ichigo reluctantly obeyed her like a loyal dog, taking this there, that there, this over here, so on and so forth. He already got enough bruises from her today so there's no way he's going to aggravate her even more to get another one.

When he came back to the kitchen, he saw Rukia washing her hand in the sink, getting ready to prepare dinner. "What are you going to make?" he asked.

Rukia smirked. "Just eat whatever I make you."

Ichigo raised a suspicious brow. "Just as long as it's not poisonous."

Rukia rolled her eyes as she grabbed a big pot from the cabinet. They both knew Ichigo wasn't being serious. After all, her cooking skills have improved immensely after she started living with him. She's actually been making a lot of their meals, giving Ichigo more time to focus on his work.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he said, "Call me if you need anything."

"'kay," she answered back as Ichigo went down the hallway.

Minutes passed as Rukia worked around the kitchen. Making dinner was no longer a challenge for her. But she—and Ichigo—still couldn't believe she was actually capable of creating eatable food now. Back when he first taught her, even the sink coughed back up all of her failed attempts, unable to let it go down the drain. That was one weird day.

_Ding dong!_

"Hai!" Rukia called out. She quickly turned off the stove (something she learned to do a few weeks ago when she _almost _burned down the apartment), and made her way to the front door. She undid the locks and swung it open. In front of her stood an old couple, both of them looking shocked upon seeing her at the door. "Can I help you?" she politely asked with her sweet smile.

"I—uh…um—y-you—" they stuttered, opening and closing their mouths like a fish, "A—ano, is Kurosaki Ichigo h-here?" they asked.

Just as Rukia was about to answer, she was interrupted by someone behind her.

"Oi, Rukia, you done with dinner yet?" Ichigo asked as he came out the bathroom and appeared before her. He was still wiping his wet hair with a towel while wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his own skin. Ichigo saw Rukia standing by the open door and frowned. "Is somebody here?" he asked as he walked over.

Rukia quickly stepped to the side to show him their unexpected guests. "These people were looking for you."

Ichigo stood next to her and smiled upon seeing who was at the door. "Watanabe-san, long time no see." Ichigo turned to Rukia and pointed to the old couple. "These two are our neighbors. They've been living here as long as I can remember and take care of this house when my family is away."

Rukia nodded and bowed to the couple. "Good evening. My name is Kuchiki Rukia. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The two couple were brought out of their daze and returned the bow. "Ah, good evening. Sorry if we startled you."

"No, not at all," Rukia shook her head and kept her sweet smile. "I guess it was to be expected when a stranger opened the door to your friend's house."

The old man smiled back. "Well, we just came by to see Ichigo-kun since we haven't seen him in years."

"Ah," Ichigo nodded, "It's been almost ten years since I last came here."

The wife smiled and extended the small box she was holding towards them. "I remember how you used to like my hand-made mochi so I brought some with me. Why don't you share it with your cute friend here?"

Rukia's smile widened as she accepted the box. Her eyes immediately sparkled. "Arigato!"

The old man looked at his wife and smiled sweetly at her. "Well, my dear, I think it's about time we take our leave."

"Yes, I do agree," she smiled back at him.

"Oh no, you don't have to leave now," Rukia said, "Why don't you come inside for a bit? I'm sure Ichigo wouldn't mind it."

Ichigo nodded. "Please, come in. I haven't seen you guys in so long, it'd be nice to catch up."

The old man chuckled. "There's plenty of time to 'catch up' later, Ichigo-kun. But you arrived not too long ago so you must be tired. We'll just come by later and leave you two lovebirds to yourselves."

"You don't have to worry—" Ichigo stopped when his brain finally registered what Watanabe-san just said. His face reddened. "W-wh-what?!" He didn't have to look to know Rukia was also blushing from his words.

The old woman giggled behind her hand. "I agree," she said again. She immediately grabbed her husband's extended hand and the two made their way down the patio and towards their own place.

But before they went too far away, Ichigo and Rukia heard the old man sighing in memory. "Ahhh, to be young again," he chuckled.

"No! That's not what—" Ichigo's voice died down as their laughter cut off out his explanation.

Suddenly, they stopped before turning the corner. The old man faced them and shouted, "DON'T FORGET TO INVITE US TO THE WEDDING!"

Ichigo and Rukia stared in utter disbelief as the old couple disappeared behind the corner.

Rubbing his face in annoyance, Ichigo groaned as he slammed the door shut, muttering about how everyone in his life were crazy and out there to make him miserable.

Rukia was still standing by the door with the box of mochi in hand, staring at the now-closed door with wide eyes. _Did they—Ichigo and I—wedding?!_ Her mind started racing with all the words that the Watanabe couple threw at them. And the more she thought about it the warmer her face was becoming.

Ichigo was about to head back to his room to put on some actual clothes when he noticed Rukia wasn't moving a muscle. "Oi, midget? Are you just going to stand there all day or make dinner?" When he got no response, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Are you listening to me, midget?"

His shaking succeeded in getting her out of her trance. "Huh?" Rukia quickly turned around but Ichigo was standing too close because the next second she collided with his wall of muscle. She lost her balance and was falling backwards.

"Rukia!" Ichigo quickly caught her around the waist and lifted her up as she held onto his toned shoulders. The box of mochi that she held fell to the ground, it's '_clank_'-ing noise echoing throughout the house before followed by dead silence.

Rukia, who had shut her eyes when she started to fall, slowly opened them to see what kind of position she was in. And it only made the red on her face darken several more shades which she quickly hid by lowering her head. She was being held up by his tight grip around her waist, lifting her up slightly that she was on her toes, while her hands were holding onto him as if for dear life.

"You okay?" Ichigo breathed out. When he didn't get an answer he leaned closer to see a blush on Rukia's cheeks. "Oi, why are you red midget? You sick again?"

Normally Rukia would retort with either a kick or a punch but she merely shook her head, making sure to keep her eyes anywhere but his face.

Ichigo scowled and was about to say something back when he then noticed the position that they were in. And this time his face got warmer.

Time passed before Rukia finally mumbled, "Ichigo, can you put me down now?"

So this was the point where Ichigo would just place her on her feet and make fun of her incapacity to stay upright.

But…nothing happened.

Instead, his grip tightened.

"Ichigo," Rukia's voice slightly squeaked as she looked up. She was about to ask what he was doing but her breath got sucked back in when she saw the intensity of his amber eyes on hers. For some unknown reason she swallowed but dared not break eye contact. Then, she saw him leaning closer.

Ichigo didn't know what the fuck he was doing. Hell, he wasn't planning any of this to happen when he first thought of bringing Rukia to the beach. But here he was, holding Rukia against his half-naked form so tightly that no air could pass in between them. Nor did he expect her to look up at him with those innocent looking eyes that were making his heart beat faster than it normally does. And now, when he should have just released his hold on her, his head started moving on its own and was leaning forward.

But what was even more interesting was the fact that Rukia wasn't moving away.

Their noses touched and he stopped, barely two inches away from touching her sweet lips. "Rukia…" he breathed out. He felt Rukia shivering against him as his breath fanned over her lips, warming it up even more as she lifted her head to close the remaining gap—

"Gaugh, I still don't know why I had to come!"

"Don't say that! It's been awhile since we've been here so let's enjoy ourselves."

"That's right! Today we'll play with daddy as we run along the beach—"

"Shut your mouth, old man—"

Kurosaki Karin's sentence got stuck in the middle of her throat when she opened the door to see none other than her older brother, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, holding a young attractive woman in his arms, their faces merely a few inches away from each other as they stared back at her with the same amount of shock in their eyes.

"Karin-chan, what's wrong—" This time Yuzu was shocked as she passed the threshold behind her twin sister to see what she was gaping at.

Ichigo could feel sweat forming at the back of his neck. He should quickly release Rukia and try to act like nothing was going on but he was too shocked to do anything. Not to mention the fact that if these two were here, then surely…

"Masaki! Why are our daughters so mean to me!!!—" Isshin stopped his rambling when he entered the house to see not only his daughters standing frozen, but his son…with a woman…and his arms wrapped around her… Isshin stood gapping at the image, dropping all the luggage that he was carrying under both arms. Then, a huge smile came across his face as he squealed like a little fangirl. "KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

A/N: How's that for a cliffhanger? *wink wink*

I love Isshin and his craziness so it wouldn't be right if I didn't put this guy in somewhere in my story. And next chapter he's going to do more to make Ichigo's life more miserable. And that _almost _kiss part. Hehe, I wasn't going to give it to you that easily *cue menacing laughter*

Oh, and for those who don't like what I did to Inoue (making her seem a bit desperate and stupid), I'm sorry. I like the girl but I need her to be like this just for now. It plays a role later on, but rest ashore!: i will give her a happy ending....or something like that ^^;

Again, thanks for all the love and keep 'em coming! I'll try and update next week.

Preview.... um, just imagine this: Embarrased Ichigo vs. Isshin screaming about grandkids (pretty broad but let your imaginations run wild!!!) lol


	10. 10 Summer Break II

**Author's Note: Aw, I didn't break a record this time! *tear***

**Anyways THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the reviews! I can't believe how much love I'm getting from you guys. It just inspires me to write more.**

**Sorry for not updating last week. I forgot to mention it was my Spring Break, which means _road trip_ for me and my friends. So I was out all last week. To MAKE UP for that, I'll try and upload the next chapter this weekend. But please read this chapter and enjoy.**

**This is the second part of our favorite couple's summer vacation trip but this time with ISSHIN! Oh, how much I love him~ Can you also hear his wild cries about grandchildren or is it just me going crazy from lack of sleep? lol  
**

**Read and don't forget to review!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 10: Summer Break II

* * *

Rukia groaned for the nth time that day as she heard Ichigo, who had donned on some clothes now, punching his father to death in the living room.

"I told you we're not like that!" Ichigo screamed.

"Don't—be shy—my son—" Isshin grunted with a smug tone in between each punch, "You—are a man—and—I want—grandchildren—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" With the remainder of his strength, Ichigo quickly threw his father against the wall, hoping beyond hope it would knock him unconscious.

But Isshin was never the type of man to fall that easily. He immediately jumped up and rushed over to Rukia who was in the kitchen. "Rukia-chan!" he squealed as he brought her into a huge bear hug, "Tell me, are you pregnant yet?"

"EH?!" Rukia gasped.

"Fuck, let her go old man!" Ichigo stomped over and tried to pull Isshin's arms away but, too happy to know his son wasn't gay, he easily evaded Ichigo's hands and also brought him in for a hug, crushing the two against each other.

"MASAKI! WE'RE GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS!"

"Oh fuck," Ichigo muttered.

"That's enough old man," Karin came over and smacked her father over the head with a thick book, "If you continue this you might not just make them deaf but crush them to death.

"Nonsense! My hug will not kill them but further unite them as one!" Isshin screamed.

"ERRRRR, that's enough!" Ichigo mustered up all of his strength and pulled his father's arms off of them. "Why don't you just die and burn in hell!" he grabbed an arm and flung his father again, but this time out the open window. Ichigo huffed several times as oxygen finally came into his crushed lungs. He stood up straight and looked down. "You okay?"

Rukia, who had fallen on her knees when Ichigo yanked Isshin's arm off of them, was taking in deep breath as well. "Do I look okay?" she glared at him.

Ichigo extended a hand to her. "Geez, it's not like I didn't suffer too."

"It's your fault in the first place, Ichi-nii," Karin said as she smirked at her brother and the woman who was now on her feet. "You shouldn't have come here just to get into someone's pants."

Ichigo's entire body immediately reddened. "W-WH-WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Karin smirk grew as she noticed the growing blush on both Ichigo and Rukia's faces. "Heh, it's not like I'm wrong."

Ichigo brought up his arm and tried to cover the red. "D-don't talk shit like that Karin! Who in the world would want to go out with a midget like her?!" he pointed to Rukia.

Rukia immediately forgot about Karin's comment and glared at Ichigo. "What does that mean?" she snarled through gritted teeth as she kicked him on the shin.

"OW! What was that for?!" he glared at her, hopping on one leg while massaging the bruised leg with the other.

"Hmph, you deserved it, stupid strawberry," she crossed her arms.

"Fucking midget," Ichigo growled, showing her his fangs.

Karin sighed. "Can't you guys keep your sexual pats in the bedroom?"

"W-wha-wh-KARIN!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oniichan! Don't raise your voice like that!" Yuzu pouted as she came out of her bedroom and to where everyone else was, "The neighbors might come over."

"Impossible," Karin waved her hand back and forth, "They're _way_ too used to us to know this is natural."

"Still," Yuzu continued pouting.

"Why is my little flower so angry? You're making daddy feel scared," Isshin wiggled through the window and towards his daughter. He then ripped open his shirt and shouted, "Come here to daddy's bosom so I may make you feel—"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" Ichigo and Karin yelled as they both threw a punch at their father's face, successfully knocking him out on the ground this time.

"Che," Ichigo snorted, "It gets harder and harder to shut him up. By the way," he looked at his twin sisters and glared, "Why are you guys here?"

Karin shrugged her shoulders. "The old goat wanted to visit you in Karakura. But after finding out you came here, we were forced to pack all of our stuff and come down here instead. And let me tell you, I'm sure the old man broke more than ten traffic law just to get down here by today."

Ichigo raised a brow. "Who told dad I was here?"

"He called Urahara-san!" Yuzu smiled.

Ichigo silently stared at his sisters, trying to comprehend what Yuzu just said. _Urahara? 'Hat-n-Cloggs' Urahara Kisuke? URAHARA?!_

Rukia slowly stepped away and covered her ears.

"URAHARA?!" Ichigo yelled, shaking the entire house. "THAT FUCKING BASTARD! I'M GOING TO BURN HIS HAT TO HELL!" He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

"_Ring…ring…ring…ri—Hai! Moshi moshi!"_

"URAHARA!" Ichigo yelled into the phone, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TELL MY FATHER?!"

"_Ara, Kurosaki-kun! How's you're trip so far? Did you and Kuchiki-san take a stroll on the sandy beach or did you two immediately jump in to the sack—"_

"STOP TALKING SHIT AND ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

"_What are you—ara, what are you doing, Yoruichi-chan~"_ Urahara whined on the other line before Ichigo heard the phone being taken away from the shopkeeper.

"_Oi Ichigo," _Yoruichi suddenly came on, "_So how's it going over there with Kuchiki?"_

Ichigo groaned. "You two are way too alike."

"_I know," _she was practically grinning even in her tone.

"Anyways, ask Urahara what the fuck he told my father? I'm seriously going to burn his hat when I return!"

Yoruichi chuckled. "_Calm down. Urahara didn't tell your father anything. I did."_

Ichigo paused before a brow went up. "You? Why the hell would you do something like that?!"

"_Psch, only Urahara agreed not to tell your father anything; I never made such a promise. So when he called I gave him the news of you taking your beautiful roommate to the beach house to make him a grandfather."_

Ichigo groaned even more as he rubbed his face in irritation. "Why the fuck did you do that for?"

"_Just to have some fun," _she answered, "_It's been way too long since we had any drama around here."_

"Fucking bitch," Ichigo growled, "Don't think this is over!" he yelled before shutting his phone off.

"Psch, stop threatening other people. Your hair is loud as it is so we don't need your mouth to be loud too," Karin glared, "And why didn't you tell us that you're living with your girlfriend…no scratch that; why didn't you tell us you _have_ a girlfriend in the first place?!"

Ichigo groaned in annoyance. "Karin, I swear there's nothing going on between me and Rukia."

"Sure, and I secretly worship the Barbie" she looked at him sarcastically.

Yuzu shook her head at the rest of her family members before turning to Rukia and smiling her sweet smile. "Konbanwa, Rukia-neesan. My name is Kurosaki Yuzu. I do hope our family didn't change your opinion of oniichan. He's actually a really nice guy and our father is really sweet if you get passed his crazy antics."

Rukia nervously chuckled. "I can see that. Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you too." She gave the younger girl a small bow but when she straightened up again, she was forced to take a step back when she noticed Yuzu was right in front of her face with sparkling wide eyes and her hands folded under her chin as if she was seeing a fairy tale love story come true. "Ano…" Rukia stuttered, "Y-Yuzu-chan—"

"Where did you and oniichan meet? How did you two fall in love? Have you two been living together for long? What led you to believe he's _the_ one? Does he treat you well? When were you planning to meet our family? Can we meet your family? How old are you? Where do you work? Are you guys going to get married this winter or possibly next summer? When will you—"

"That's enough Yuzu," Karin placed a hand against her sister's mouth, "I think you're scaring her even more." She then looked at her brother's 'girlfriend' and smirked. "Sorry about that. Our father is a bit crazy, my sister might seem normal but she has a little bit of the old goat in her. Our brother is a dumbass who talks with his fists then his mouth. But I'm the sane one in this family so you can come to me if Ichi-nii or the others do anything to make you feel uncomfortable," she smirked.

Rukia nervously chuckled back. "A-arigato, Karin-chan."

"Take out the '-chan' and then 'your welcome,'" Karin smirked.

Ichigo groaned at what was happening before him. "Why is this happening to me?" he mumbled.

"Don't act so depressed, Ichi-nii. You would have had to introduce her to us sooner or later so why get pissed now?" Karin asked.

Ichigo sighed. "Karin, I'm telling you: there's nothing going—"

"Ichigo."

The orange head turned around only to have his face collide with his now-conscious father's fist. He flew to the wall and slid to the ground after knocking into it. "What the fuck!" he yelled once he got his mind straight again.

Isshin stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs spread apart as he glared down at his son. "Are you trying to say you're living with a beautiful woman who has absolutely no relationship with you whatsoever? And you even bring her down here to our 'Kurosaki-love-nest'!? Are you up to something suspicious boy?!"

"No!" Rukia suddenly jumped in, surprising everyone in the room including herself. "I mean, um…Ichigo and I—well, our relationship is still new so we're still not comfortable about telling people that we're…um, that we're 't-together," she smiled nervously.

Everyone was staring at Rukia as seconds rolled by. Ichigo was looking at her as if she was crazy (and she was sending the 'what-else-could-I-do' look), Karin had a smug look on her, Yuzu still had her puppy-dog eyes, and Isshin…well—

"KYA!" Isshin squealed and hugged Rukia to him again. "Welcome to the family, Rukia-chan! I can't wait to hear the church bells, or better yet, I can't wait to hear the pitter-patter of my grandchildren at home! YAY!" In the next second he grabbed everyone and was in the middle of Ichigo's room. "I will allow you two to share the bedroom together! I know it's what my future grandchild would want!"

"WHAT?!" Ichigo and Rukia yelled.

Karin walked over and smacked her father from behind his head. "Are you stupid? They're not even married. And I doubt they would want to get busy when they know you're next door and most likely trying to listen to everything."

"Well, I think it's a good idea. After all, they're living together so they must share a bed. This would be natural for them," Yuzu added her two cents, "Besides, there's no other bed for Rukia-neesan to use."

"I like how this vacation is turning out!" Isshin laughed menacingly. He looked at his two daughters and ushered them out of the room. "Now let's leave them alone to settle in before dinner."

"Hai," they simultaneously answered.

The two stared in disbelief as the twins walked out and Isshin closed the door behind them, though not before throwing them a knowing wink and a thumb's up. Now, the two 'lovebirds' were alone in their 'love nest,' just as Isshin had beautifully planned since the start of this trip.

Rukia reluctantly looked behind her and cringed when she only saw one bed. "Fuck."

When he heard her voice, Ichigo looked over at her and turned to look back to see what she was swearing about. He saw the problem. "Fuck," he copied.

Rukia walked over and let out a groan of exhaustion as she got on the bed and lied down.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Oi, midget, what do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm getting comfortable," Rukia sighed as she stretched her muscles.

"Yeah, on _my _bed," Ichigo glared.

"Well technically it's _our_ bed now," Rukia scoffed, "And I got here first so I'm taking the bed."

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed as he walked over and stood next to the bed, glaring down at the midget. "Move," he ordered

Rukia looked back up at him with the same deadly look. "No," she sneered.

Annoyed beyond hell at how this day had turned out, Ichigo just decided to take matters into his own hands. Without another word, he pushed Rukia over to the other side of the bed.

"Ah! Ichigo, what are you doing?!" Rukia squeaked.

But Ichigo merely pushed her until she was lying near the edge on the other side. "I'm not going to sleep on the floor so deal with it," he snapped at her before climbing into the bed and lying directly next to her.

Rukia sat up straight and looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you insane?! Are you insisting we sleep together?!"

"Psch," he scoffed again as he closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. "I never insisted that. I'm merely saying that it's _my_ bed so I'm sleeping on it. If you don't want to sleep on the floor then just deal with it!"

Rukia's mouth gapped like a fish several times. "So you're fine with sleeping with me?"

"Why should I care?" Ichigo asked as he turned to one side, his back to her, "It's not like anything is going to happen."

Rukia raised a brow. "You promise?"

Ichigo paused before lifting his head up a little to look at her. "Promise what?" he asked.

"That you won't do anything suspicious," Rukia nodded towards him.

Ichigo looked at her before smirking. "Why? Afraid I might jump you?"

Rukia immediately looked away to hide her blush. "N-no."

"You're stuttering," he said. But when he didn't get an answer back from her, he decided it was time to have some more fun. He grabbed one of her arms and pushed her back onto the bed.

"Ah! Ichigo! What are you doing?!" Rukia shouted when she suddenly fell back on the bed and Ichigo suddenly appeared on top of her. Instead of acting all shocked and shy, she was glaring at him with all the venom she could muster. "What the fuck?"

Ichigo chuckled. And when Rukia tried to push him off, he grabbed both of her wrists and pinned it over her head with one hand. But being the midget he knew so well, Rukia continued to struggle. Not thinking about how her petite—but definitely a woman—body felt against his, Ichigo's humor quickly died as he used his other hand to grab one of her legs and gripped it tightly.

Rukia didn't know why but her struggle ceased in shock when she felt Ichigo's firm grip under one of her knees. She looked directly up at Ichigo, rivaling his intense amber with her deadly violets.

Ichigo growled low in his throat before leaning down and whispering next to her ear: "You should be more careful before something really happens to you. Didn't you learn anything from our very first _night_ together?"

Rukia's eyes blinked several times as her mind flashed the image of them in his apartment the night after the first day of school. "But both times this happened it's been you," she scoffed.

Ichigo tightened his grips as he growled even more fiercely. "But next time you might not get so lucky."

Before Rukia could inquire what he meant by that, Ichigo suddenly pushed himself off of her and went to grab something from his drawers. "What are you doing?" she asked him as he went to the door with a towel.

"Cold shower," he grumbled before opening the door.

Rukia blushed deep red, but it became even worse when Ichigo suddenly opened the door and Isshin and Yuzu fell inside, each of them holding a cup in their hand.

Isshin jumped to his knees and started to shake his head and hands. "T-this isn't what it looks like son…"

Ichigo glared before grabbing the back of Isshin's collar and dragging him out of the room. Rukia could hear him mumbling promises to kill his father with a blunt blade and bury him so far away that even his ghost couldn't come back to haunt him.

Yuzu sat up and looked between Rukia and the empty—but loud—hallway. "Ano, please excuse me," she bowed before running out, closing the door behind her.

Rukia stared at the closed door before falling back onto the soft mattress. She buried her head into the pillow, trying to make sense of what Ichigo told her before he released his hold. And why was she feeling so warm? Not to mention she was breathing like as if she ran a marathon.

She grumbled in annoyance, not liking the feeling of not knowing what _she_ was feeling. She buried herself deeper into the pillow. But when she took in a deep breath, a big whiff of Ichigo's scent filled her nostrils. She opened her eyes and lifted her head just enough to look at the pillow she just sniffed.

It was the pillow Ichigo was lying on before he jumped on her…

Rukia groaned again before dropping her head back onto the pillow.

She was so confused that she didn't care anymore…at the moment.

---

Ichigo sighed as he watched his two sisters and Rukia run across the beach in the warm sunny afternoon.

It's been four days since he came here with Rukia for a relaxing vacation, only to have it ruined with the sudden appearance of his family.

Luckily, Yoruichi left out the bit about Rukia being his student; but that meant they had to act like 'lovers' in front of the three people. Which _also_ meant Ichigo had to listen to his father rambling on and on about grandchildren, sex positions, not being gay, and more grandchildren.

The sleeping arrangement was annoying. Both were stubborn as hell, willing to give up their life before giving up the bed. Of course, after several foul languages and bruises, Ichigo was forced to sleep on the floor, using a spare futon that he had in the closet. He was hoping to get the bed the next day but the midget was too smart. Each night he would try and sneak into the bed but somehow Rukia was able to reach it before him. Things just kept getting worse when Isshin made perverted comments at bruises on Ichigo.

But it wasn't totally bad.

At least Rukia was getting along well with his family. Yuzu immediately took a liking to the midget, happy to have an 'older sister.' And Karin found it amusing that her brother got himself a woman who could beat his ass into shape. Ichigo wasn't too thrilled about her idea of his perfect partner, but Isshin just commented that Kurosaki men need women with a bit of a kick, which should even carry into the bedroom. Ichigo had to punch his father at the comment, not wanting to hear anymore perverted jokes.

After all, he hears it everyday at school from Keigo and from Urahara (and sometimes Yoruichi) on the weekends. He didn't want _everyone _to mistake him for a pervert, especially now since Rukia was starting to get suspicious.

Everything was going well. The past few days at the beach was full of Yuzu's delicious food, a game of soccer, Isshin-bashing, Rukia and Ichigo arguing constantly, Yuzu teaching Rukia some new dishes, Karin sarcastic comments to annoy her brother, Isshin-bashing, tanning in the sun, shopping in town, having tea and chess matches with the Watanabe couple (the old man beating up everyone's ass while at it), and more Isshin-bashing.

Yes, everything was going well but that didn't mean there weren't nerve-wrecking moments.

On the first night, while Ichigo was tossing and turning on the ground, he and Rukia created the perfect 'love story' to trick his family and everyone else who might question their relationship. Since she was eighteen, they decided it was safe to say she was a freshman in college. They met through a friend and immediately hit it off, thus moving into Ichigo's apartment not long after he moved into town. However, due to issues from Rukia's family, they're trying to keep their relationship on the 'down-low' in case she gets taken away from him.

Oh yeah. That was the perfect story that got Yuzu and Isshin crying when they were told. Isshin hugged them and said he'll support them from the sidelines so not to worry. If Rukia's family finds out and tries to take her away from them, he'll go in and turn the world upside-down to bring her back to the Kurosaki family.

"Ichigo!"

The orange head looked up to see Rukia running up to where he was sitting under a big umbrella. He was wearing a pair of board shorts and an unbuttoned, short-sleeved shirt on top, allowing his beautiful muscles to bless the world with its presence.

Rukia stopped in front of him and grinned. She was wearing a thin piece of white shirt on top of her bikini along with a pair of short jeans. And on her head she was wearing a straw hat that Isshin bought her and Yuzu just the day before.

"What do you want midget?" Ichigo groaned.

Rukia pouted before grabbing one of his wrists and tried to pull him up. "Come on! These past few days you only sat around and never came into the water. Let's go have some fun!"

Ichigo sighed. "Let go or else I'll throw you," he threatened.

Rukia's bottom lip came out as she dropped his hand. She placed her hands on her hips and snorted, "Fine then, be a bad sport. The girls and I are planning on going to the public beach so come over there if you need us."

Ichigo growled. The public area? Did she not know that place was swarming with idiotic men looking for a piece of ass? "Don't go there."

Rukia raised a brow. "And why not?"

"Just because, okay?!" he snapped.

Rukia whacked him over the head. "No, it's not okay! Geez, you act all weird whenever we leave this area. What's wrong with you?"

Ichigo rubbed his head and groaned in annoyance. Seriously, what _was _wrong with him? "I don't know…fine, just go," he growled.

Rukia immediately smiled. "Thanks! See you in a bit!" she turned around and ran back to where the twins were playing. "Let's go!" she grinned as she grabbed their hands and the three ran towards the public beach, which was only several yards away. Heck, Ichigo could practically hear the loud, screaming noise that was coming from that area.

The orange head sighed as he looked out into the beach. With the girls suddenly gone, it was starting to get boring.

"Ichigo! Where are the girls?!"

Ichigo groaned for the nth time that day when his father appeared beside him. "They went to the public beach. Why?" he asked.

Isshim immediately started hyperventilating. "Ichigo! How could you?!" He grabbed his son with a head lock and squeezed him hard.

"AH!" Ichigo screamed, "What is wrong with you, you old goat?!"

"ICHIGO!" Isshin started crying, "HOW COULD YOU LET THEM GO?! THAT PLACE IS PRACTICALLY CRAWLING WITH ATTRACTIVE MEN THAT WILL IMMEDIATELY START HITTING ON THEM! AND WHAT WILL YOU DO IF SOMEONE TAKES SWEET RUKIA-CHAN AWAY FROM YOU!"

Ichigo could practically feel ten different veins popping out of his head. "GET OFF ME!" he screamed as he tossed his father over his head.

Isshin screamed in shock before landing with his head down first in the warm sand. He was still, waiting for the rush to die down before jumping up on his feet and turning to face his son with a triumphant smile. "Haha! You can't defeat me that—Ichigo?" He was shocked to see not only the empty spot under the umbrella but Ichigo quickly walking over to the other side of the beach where the girls went.

Isshin allowed a big smile to appear on his face as his son got further and further away.

"Looks like he's going to be alright after all, Masaki," he whispered into the cool wind that blew over to the ocean behind him.

Ichigo kept muttering curses as he came to the public beach. He had to weave though some tall rocks, bushes, and trees to come out into the clearing. And when he did he did not like what he saw.

Too many people were crowding the area, making the task of finding Rukia and his sisters even more difficult. People of all different size, shape, color, and overall looks have gathered around the beach; half of them in the sand and the other half in the water. Families came to spend a nice vacation together; couples came to try and later rip each other's swimsuit off in bed; and friends came to have a barbeque and play some volleyball.

Yup, too crowded for his taste.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed even more to the center as he started weaving through the crowd. He side stepped kids and/or dogs that came flying at him, he had to watch for feet sticking out from under huge, colorful umbrellas and he had to walk quickly to avoid all the cat-calls directed at him.

"Hey there cutie, wanna come over here and put some oil on my back?"

"Nice hair. But I think it'll look better if you placed it next to mine, in bed."

"Why, don't you have a nice looking ass?"

"Hey, what's 'your' flavor?"

"Wanna play a game with me? I pretend to be drowning and you perform CPR on me."

"Hey dude, which way do you swing? Because if you swing the _other _way then I would like to take you out sometime."

"Hey sweetie. Wanna come here and play with me under this big umbrella?"

Ichigo groaned as he tried to ignore all the horrible pick up lines that were coming from women—and some men—young and old alike. This was one of the reasons why he didn't like going to the beach: too many sluts came after him. Heck, once a girl started hitting on him and her boyfriend came, accusing _him_ for trying to steal his girl!

Of course Ichigo had to beat the shit out of the guy and left him half buried in the sand. And without even glancing at the girl, he left the beach, ignoring his friends who were trying to bring him back to their drinking party.

Ichigo let out an irritated sigh when he heard the nth cat-call from the women around him. Seriously, he just wanted to find the girls and get out!

But one brave woman in her twenties stepped in front of him, stopping him from going anywhere. "Hey, what's your name?" she battered her eyelids as she placed a finger on his exposed chest and started making random patterns on him.

Ichigo, with his hands in his short pockets, looked down at the blonde bimbo in front of him with an un-amused look. "Move," he ordered.

"Oh, a bit of a bad boy, huh?" she winked at him before stepping closer to press her silicone boobs against him, "I bet you're even feistier in bed."

His eye started to twitch. "Move or else," he growled dangerously at her.

The woman was slightly taken aback for a second by the ice in his tone, but kept her position against him, running her hand dangerously close to the waistband of his shorts. "Stop trying to play 'hard-to-get.' I'm the type to always get the man I want so there's no need to try so hard." Her fingers were starting to play with the strings on the waistband but she gasped when Ichigo's hand caught her wrist.

He brought it up and held it tightly in his grip, causing the girl to whine a little in pain. "I thought I told you to move." He released his hand and the woman took it back, nursing her aching wrist.

"What the hell?!" she glared at him, "I should have you arrested for manhandling me."

"I hope you know it was _you_ who made a move on me," Ichigo replied, "I should be the one to call you for sexual harassment."

The woman's left eye started to twitch in irritation. "Are you gay or something? Why else would you not be tempted by me?!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Just because I'm not desperate like most of the perverts here doesn't make me gay. I already have someone so don't even bother."

The woman raised a brow. "You have a girl?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"Who?" she suddenly asked.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Why should I tell you? It's not like you'd know who she is even if I tell you."

The girl glared. "I just want to see how good she is to have you wrapped around her finger so tightly that you're not even a bit aroused by me. So, who is she?"

"Me."

Ichigo's head snapped to the side when he heard the third voice. But the moment his eyes landed on hers, his calm demeanor disappeared.

Rukia was glaring at him with red blaring eyes.

"R-Rukia," Ichigo stuttered, "H-how long have you been there?"

"Long enough," she snarled before turning her glare to the woman who was still in front of Ichigo. She walked over to the other two and stood in front of Ichigo, facing the woman who was barely taller than her. "Why are you bothering him when he told you to 'move'?"

The woman took a step back before laughing. "Her?" she pointed at Rukia before looking back up at Ichigo, "This is the girl that literally has you down on your knees?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. _I never said anything like that_.

Rukai glare became even more menacing. "You have a problem with that?" she growled.

The woman stopped laughing and looked down at Rukia who was only three inches shorter than her. "Actually, yes I do. That guy—" she pointed at Ichigo, "—deserves a woman who can give him the time of his life. There's no way he'd be satisfied with the likes of you. So why don't you just go home and play with your dollies whiles the _adults_ have some fun." She placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder to push her away, but Rukia had other plans.

The moment she felt the newly manicured hand on her shoulder, Rukia grabbed the wrist and twisted her arm back, pinning the woman down on her knees.

"AH! LET GO YOU BITCH!" The woman screamed.

"Sorry, but I have no intention of just sitting around to see a dumbass bitch like _you_ try and take _my_ man!" Rukia yelled at her before pushing the woman away. "Now don't you dare show yourself in front of us again or else I'll pop those things you call 'breasts,'" Rukia threatened. She dusted off her hands as she watched the woman scrambled to her feet and run away wailing out loud. "Eugh, her cries sounds like a dying crow," she cringed.

"Nicely done, Rukia," Karin whistled, clapping her hands in applaud as she came from behind.

"Thanks," Rukia grinned at her before glaring up at Ichigo.

He didn't know why but he immediately put his hands up and shook his head. "I seriously did NOT hit on her."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "I know. I thought I told you I was here long enough to see everything." She looked at him and frowned. "Though I am a bit shocked you didn't fall for her tactics."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, she was attractive, if you get past her attitude, but—"

"Rukia-neesan! Don't say that," Yuzu came up to her with her puppy eyes, "Don't doubt oniichan's love for you! It can conquer all the bad people in this world!"

Rukia looked at Yuzu with a strained smile. "O-of course, Yuzu. You're right."

Karin smirked as she looked at her brother and spoke so only he could hear her. "But I think that blondie was right about one thing."

Ichigo raised a brow. "What's that?"

Karin nodded towards Rukia. "That she practically has you wrapped around her finger."

"What?!" Ichigo shouted, "That's not true! That midget is a fucking—"

"Ichigo! Shut up and let's go!" Rukia yelled at him as she followed Yuzu's lead towards an ice cream stall. Ichigo immediately shut his mouth.

Karin smirked. "See?"

The orange head glared at her before he followed Rukia through the crowded beach. "Shut up," he growled while his sister snickered beside him.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia shouted at him while reading the different flavors.

His scowl deepened. _She doesn't control me! I'm not whipped—_

"ICHIGO! I want the strawberry one!" she shouted back at him and he was already in the middle of pulling out his wallet.

Okay, so maybe he was a little whipped.

* * *

A/N: no cliffhanger this time but I hope I ended it well enough. So that fake-boob character was totally random but I thought I add it there to create more fluffs. Besides, who doesn't want to see Rukia staking claim on Ichigo out in public, eh? *wink wink*

I tried my best to bring out Isshin's character but it's so hard to do! Still, hope you guys liked it!

Please review so I can upload the next chapter faster!!

Preview for next chapter:

Everyone is at the summer festival. And the two suddenly goes from small touches to big.... OH MY!


	11. 11 Summer Break III

**Author's Note: AH! I can't believe I reached over 200 reviews already!!!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't help bragging about this to my friends. I never got so many reviews in only ten chapters. THANKS AGAIN!  
**

**This is the continuation of the summer break for our two heroes. More Isshin love along with some spicy, hot actions later on. Looks like things are going to heat up for Ichigo and Rukia.**

**Also, somebody wanted to know if I'm going to write any lemons. Hmmmm...... after giving it some thought, I think I just might do that. Other people are encouraging me to write them so I hope none of you guys mind. Just in case, I will always add a warning sign for lemons (though not for limes). Well, that will come later on when I actually write those chapters.**

**Please read and enjoy! Trust me, you guys are going to like this chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 11: Summer Break III

* * *

Rukia smiled as she tasted the sweet cotton candy in her mouth. Every where around her people where laughing and having fun under the star-filled night sky.

It was the tenth day of the trip at the beach and Rukia was accompanying the Kurosaki family at the local summer festival while wearing a light blue-colored yukata that Isshin bought for her. They were told about this festival only the day before, which was eventful on its own especially because of Isshin and his crazy imagination.

_Flashback_

_Ichigo choked on his fish after hearing his father. He quickly chugged down a glass of water before screaming at his father. "WHAT?!"_

_Isshin laughed. "Hahaha! You heard me boy! I want to record this special summer in everyway possible so I may share it with your children later on. So we're going to go to the local summer festival in the town!"_

"_No," Ichigo snarled._

"_What?!" Isshin pointed him with an accusing finger. "Are you planning on ruining this happy vacation for me? What will your mother say?!"_

"_That I'm smart," Ichigo glared, "I don't want to see a replay of the incident last time we were at a festival."_

"_Ahhhhh, those were the days," Isshin laughed out loud as his mind brought up some good memories._

_Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Please, having you running around in your underwear is _not_ a good memory. Even okasan pretended not to know you."_

_Isshin chuckled. "Don't be silly. Your mother found me extremely funny that night."_

"_I think you were way to drunk that night to even remember what she said about you," Karin commented as she accepted another bowl of rice from Yuzu._

"_But I think it might be a good idea to go," Rukia said._

_Isshin squealed as he jumped up and ran to give Rukia a hug. "It seems you're the only one who understand__s__ my pure intention in this, Rukia-chan. Let us all go and celebrate this great summer and your beautiful love for my inconsiderate son."_

_Ichigo glared at the woman next to him. "You're going to regret it, Rukia."_

"_Well you won't know that until you go, right?" she smirked, "So let's just __go along __with your father and have fun."_

_Yuzu sat down next to Karin and smiled sweetly at her brother. "I also want to go. It's been awhile since we went to a festival together."_

"_Ah! My dear daughter is so sweet!" Isshin squealed._

_Karin sighed. "Well, if Yuzu's going then I have to go with her."_

_But Ichigo was still unconvinced. "I'm not going. Besides, you don't have yukatas to wear to the festival."_

"_Why, on the contrary I already brought them before we left the house," Isshin announced proudly._

_But Ichigo pointed at the woman next to him. "But not this midget." Rukia glared at him before stomping on his foot under the table. Ichigo yelped in pain._

_Karin smirked. "You should be careful with that mouth of yours. Rukia-nee's not like other girls when they're made fun of."_

_Ichigo glared at his sister. "I'm sure she's your perfect idol than, huh?"_

_Karin chuckled. "Maybe. Seeing how she can kick your ass is one of the qualities I like best about her."_

"_Why, thank you, Karin," Rukia smiled at the dark-haired twin._

_Ichigo groaned. "Still, _we're_ not going."_

"_What? Since when did you make decisions for me?" Rukia gaped at him._

_Ichigo glared. "Ever since you started living with me."_

"_What does that have to do with anything?!" Rukia yelled at him._

"_Because whatever happens to you will be directly link__ed__ to me as well," Ichigo said, "If you went then the old man will definitely do something stupid in public just to embarrass me."_

"_But I already got Rukia-chan's yukata handmade for her!" Isshin whined._

_This time Rukia almost choked on her food. "W-what? But how? You don't know my size."_

_Isshin laughed out loud. "My dear future-daughter-in-law! I already figured it out the moment I first held you against my manly chest. Muhahaha!"_

_Rukia didn't know if she should praise him for having such talents or cringe__ at the fact__ that he could tell her size just by hugging her. And just when did she become his 'future-daughter-in-law'?_

_Ichigo groaned. "That doesn't matter. If you want to go then go, but don't drag me into this."_

_Isshin gasped again. "Nonsense! If you don't come then who will protect our women?!"_

_Karin rolled her eyes. "Like we need you two buffoons to watch us. I'm fine all by myself so don't even bother."_

_Ichigo nodded. "See? They're old enough to take care of themselves."_

"_They might seem that way but Ichigo__,__ think about it," Isshin leaned over to his son and pointed at the three women, "They're walking alone, late in the middle of the night. They get lost and can barely see anything through the dark. Then suddenly! A pair of arms come out and grabs them from behind, muffling their screams before it could even come out from their throat. Then this man calls his friends and each person holds down her limbs to stop her from moving while the leader quickly takes off his pants__—__!"_

Thus, Ichigo was following Rukia as she continued enjoying her cotton candy, his eyebrows furrowed even more than it normally was. Thankfully he was able to get away with not wearing a yukata. He was wearing a simple pair of jeans that hugged his legs nicely, with only a black wife-beater on top to keep him cool during the hot summer night.

"Stop sulking and just enjoy the festival," she said to him.

Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked closely behind her. "Whatever. I just want to get this over with so I can go home. I still have work to do."

Rukia raised a brow. "About that: why did you bring it with you to vacation? Isn't the whole part of a vacation to _escape_ work?"

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, but I just want to get those papers graded before this week ends. That way I can spend the rest of summer just being lazy on the couch."

Rukia smirked. "Guess that's not a bad idea."

"But you have homework to do when we get back home. Not to mention I'm still waiting for you to turn in that research paper," Ichigo smirked at her which earned him an evil glare.

Rukia tossed away the stick that was leftover after finishing her cotton candy, before continuing her walk down the different stalls. "Be careful with what you say. If your family hears you saying that to me they might get suspicious."

"Don't worry," Ichigo nodded.

He learned his lesson the week before when he was grading some paper in the living room and his family came in after another day in the water.

_Flashback_

"_Ichigo, what are you doing?" Rukia asked._

"_Work," he groaned, "I still have tons of stuff to do."_

_She looked over his shoulders to see what he was grading. It was the midterm paper that they took a few days before summer break started. "Why don't you do that after we get back home?"_

_Ichigo shrugged when Isshin came in and saw what he was doing._

"_ICHIGO!" he flew over and landed on his son, banging his head against the table, "How dare you bring work to our family vacation?!"_

"_Fuck you!" Ichigo pushed his father away, "I just have a lot __of __work to do so just leave me alone."_

"_What is all this though?" Karin asked as she looked at his stack of paper._

"_Midterm paper. It's on one of Japan's oldest folklores that still influence a lot of Japanese authors today," Rukia informed them as she grabbed one sheet and read the name with the low grade. She smirked._

_Looks like Renji __got another__ reason to hate Ichigo now._

"_How did you know what it was about, Rukia-neesan?" Yuzu asked as she read some of the paper._

_Both Ichigo and Rukia stiffened, not daring to look up. They both had one word in mind: _Shit!

"_Stupid. They live together so it's obvious she would know a lot of what Ichi-nii is doing," Karin scoffed._

"_Oh, you're right," Yuzu smiled._

"_Hahaha! It would be funny though if you were his student. Then you'd know all the answers since you're sleeping with him," Isshin joked, "It might be a good role-play to play in the bedroom. It's one of Urahara's favorite after all."_

_The two laughed awkwardly along with the family but Rukia was biting her lower lip while Ichigo could feel sweat on his back._

_But just as Karin was about to grab one of the graded papers, Ichigo remembered that Rukia's paper was among the stacks so he quickly reached over and slammed his hand down on top of the stack before his sisters could go through more of them._

"_What the heck, Ichi-nii?!" Karin glared at him when his hand almost slammed down on her own._

"_Sorry," Ichigo apologized, "But I really don't want to mess the stack since I have it all organized."_

_Karin gave him one last glare before putting down the paper she was previously holding. "Fine. I have to take a shower anyways."_

_Ichigo nodded but didn't remove his hand from the stack until Karin stood up and left. If he hadn't moved fast enough, who knows what __might__ have happened?_

Ichigo groaned at the thought when they came to a stop in front of a fishing stall. "What are we doing here?"

"Ichigo! Don't be a spoiled-sport! Your sisters want to relive their childhood with this fishing game so come here and play with us!"

"No," Ichigo glared at him, "Leave me out of this."

Isshin pouted. "Fine, I see how it is. You were planning on taking my future-daughter-in-law to some secluded place and leave our family altogether! Do we embarrass you that much?!"

"Yes," Ichigo flat out told him.

"MASAKI!" Isshin screamed as he suddenly grabbed Rukia and hugged her tightly, "Our inconsiderate son is trying to take our sweet Rukia-chan to defile her during a family vacation! I have failed you!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled at his father, his face beet-red as people started staring at them, "Will you just let go of Rukia and just leave us alone?!"

Karin came over and pulled on Isshin's back collar, pulling him away from Ichigo and Rukia. "Let's go you old goat, and leave the two alone. We've been ruining their private vacation since we got here so we should at least give them the night off."

Yuzu came up and nodded. "I agree otousan. We should let oniichan take Rukia-neesan out and enjoy the festival."

"Oh, my daughters are so sweet!" Isshin squealed, "Then let's leave your brother alone with our Rukia-chan! And maybe they'll come back with my grandchild!"

"Get lost!" Ichigo kicked his father away from them. Isshin yelped as he fell forward and landed in the tub of cold water with tiny goldfishes. Ichigo huffed in anger as he grabbed Rukia's hand. "Com'on, let's get out of here before he comes back and embarrasses us even more."

Before Rukia could protest, she was being quickly dragged away from where Yuzu was kneeling next to her father to wake him up. But Karin was looking back at them with a smirk. "Have fun Ichi-nii! We'll see you guys at the beach in an hour," she shouted earning her a hard glare from her brother before they turned a corner.

Rukia pouted as Ichigo kept pulling her behind him, his grip on her hand really tight. "Ichigo," she groaned, "Can you let go of me now?"

"No," he answered, "Not until we're far enough from my old man."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Look, you knocked him unconscious so don't worry—"

"KNOCK HER UP IN ONE BANG ICHIGO! THEN SHE'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU!" Rukia cringed as she heard Isshin' loud voice screaming from the other side of the festival.

"Never mind," she groaned with her face beet red.

"I thought so," Ichigo smirked at her as they hastened their steps.

As they continued to walk Rukia noticed Ichigo was still in a dark mood. She sighed before coming to a sudden halt, yanking him to a stop as well, startling him.

"What the fuck Rukia! You could have given me a warning or something," he snapped at her.

Rukia rolled her eyes as she walked up to face him fully before pressing her pointer-finger against his chest. "First of all, nobody goes around and tell people they're going to stop. And second, what's bothering you so much that you're moodier than a typical girl PMS-ing? Is it because of your father?"

Ichigo looked at her before swapping her hand away to continue walking. "It's not that, and that PMSing thing was just gross."

"Then what is it?!" she asked in frustration.

Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "It's just that, well…I really can't stop thinking about the papers at home."

"That's it?!" She gapped at him, "You're pissed off because you didn't get to finish grading? Something is seriously wrong with you!"

Ichigo glared at her. "That's not why! I just remembered that I left the papers out in the open and if one of my sisters or my father finds them, they might find your paper among them!"

"Oh," Rukia paused before looking at him with a softer gaze. "Look Ichigo, your family is having fun and they want you to have fun too. Besides, weren't you the one who's been reassuring me that we're not going to get caught? So why don't you take your own advice and calm down."

Ichigo looked at her before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll try."

Rukia smiled. "Good. It's not good for your health to be worrying about work so much. Look at me!" she pointed to herself, "I know how to have fun but still maintain my position as number one in my class!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, by pure luck. I see you every night cramming for tests and not finishing your homework until the last second. Which reminds me, if you don't turn in that research paper to me you'll end up being SECOND and not first."

Rukia gave him her evil glare before kicking him on the shin.

"AH! What the fuck was that for?!" he yelled at her.

"For trying to ruin my vacation! If you do anything to ruin my perfect scores then I will tell everyone at school how you still have that ugly lion-stuffed animal in your closet!" she yelled at him before running off.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called after her, but he was still kneeling on one leg, trying to tend to the nth bruise of the month. By the time he looked up he noticed the midget was now no longer in sight. "Fuck," he grumbled as he stood straight back up.

Ichigo looked left and right as he made his way through the bright street. People in yukatas and regular clothes were walking around, talking, laughing and just having fun. But here he was, starting to panic with every second that passed. "Rukia!" he called out several times but he never got a response. After a few minutes, just as he was about to go make an announcement through the intercom, something caught his eyes.

Kuchiki Rukia is an _extremely_ short person for her age (in Ichigo's perspective) but there was just something about her that made her distinguishable from a crowd of people. Her unique eyes? The sweet scent from her hair? The annoying antics she did when she was mad? Well, there were a lot of possible reasons but one thing was for sure: no matter how short she was or hidden among a huge crowd of people, Ichigo will ALWAYS be able to find her.

And this time was no different, except…

There were four punks hitting on her. Oh, they were literally asking for an early death.

"Look here sweetie, we just want you to join us for a little party we're going to have down by the beach."

"I said 'no,'" Rukia said to him with her icy voice, her chin held up high as if she was staring down at a piece of insect. "Go before you get in trouble."

One of the punks, who had his hair in cornrows, smirked at her as he stepped closer to her. He then grabbed a lock of her dark hair between his fingers and started playing with it. "You sure are feisty. Just come along with us. You're obviously alone right now with nothing else to do so let's go have some fun."

Another dumbass with blonde bleached hair stepped next to Rukia and snickered next to her ear. "You should feel honored that we're asking you to join us. Most girls would die to get this opportunity."

"Then go grab one of them," Rukia glared at him, swapping away the hand that was still twirling her lock of her hair, "And I'm not alone."

"Oh, is your family here?" he asked, "Do you have a sister? If she's hot as you then you can bring her along too."

"No," she stepped away from him, "I'm here with my boyfriend. So leave before he sees you. I'm actually giving you dumbasses an opportunity to live so take it before it's too late."

The four men looked at each other before bursting into laughter. "What kind of boyfriend leaves his woman alone on this festive night? And how will he be able to go against the four of us? Why don't you just dump him and come party with us?"

The one with the cornrows bent down and whispered next to her ear, "I promise to give you the best night of your life."

"Not while I'm still alive."

Before Rukia could turn around, an arm came around her waist and pulled her away from the man that was just whispering in her ear. She let out a startled gasped and looked up.

"I suggest you leave now before I decide to rip your heads off your shoulders, painfully," Ichigo threatened with a look that said he was ready to kill. Anyone would have been quickly scared by his look and dark tone of voice, but to Rukia, he never looked more attractive.

One of the guys looked between Rukia and Ichigo several times before smirking. "Him? He's your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Ichigo glared as he brought Rukia behind him to hide her from their sneezy glances.

"Actually, I do," he said as his smirked disappeared and he walked straight up to Ichigo, "We're going to a party and we just wanted her to come along. So get out of our way."

This time Ichigo smirked. "Why should I? She doesn't want to go with you so just leave her alone."

"Sorry, but when I want something I always get it," he growled as he reached his arm out to push Ichigo away. But as he went to grab Rukia, Ichigo's fist came up in a flash and went straight to his face.

"AH!" several people screamed around them as the guy fell backwards with a bloody nose.

The blonde guy looked down in shock. "Dude, you okay?"

But the idiot was too busy squirming in pain as he held onto his nose. "Fucking bastard! You broke my nose!"

"No shit," Ichigo said, "That was the whole point of punching you."

Rukia tried to pretend like a damsel in distress but she just couldn't stop a grin from tugging on her lips at seeing the dumbass in pain. He deserved every bit of it.

The other three looked up and gritted their teeth at Ichigo. "You're going to pay for that!" they screamed at him.

Ichigo kept his smirk on his face as he looked at them with interest. "Then come at me with all you got. It's been awhile since I got to use my muscles so this'll be a good exercise." He shifted his body into a slight fighting stance. He wasn't going to make a move until one of these guys moved first.

"Fucking bastard," the fourth person cursed before going straight at Ichigo with a raised fist.

---Several seconds later---

Rukia looked back in complete innocence to see the four guys that were hitting on her only a few minutes ago, piled on top of each other with their soul literally seeping out from their unconscious body. "I think you might have overdone it," she commented.

Ichigo shook his head as he dusted his hands. "I actually went easy on them. Besides, it's their fault for coming on to me with raised fists. I've been conditioned to fight back whenever fists are aimed at me since I was a kid."

Rukia grinned as she stepped faster to walk next to him as they went further and further away from the pile of the 'dead.' "Are you sure that's the only reason? Or were you trying to protect me?"

Ichigo glanced at her before snorting. "Please, I know you too well to know you don't need anyone to protect you."

Rukia laughed. "But you still did come and get me."

"Only because I can't move out all your shit back at my place," he teased, earning him a glare from Rukia. He chuckled. "Just think of this as a way of retuning the favor for what you did for me several days ago at the beach."

Rukia smirked as they continued walking aimlessly through the festival. "I wonder what might have happened if you didn't come in time."

Ichigo thought about this for a second before replying. "You most likely would have either beaten them up or followed them."

Rukia frowned. "What makes you think I would have gone with them? If you didn't see it, I was obviously trying to get rid of them."

Ichigo sighed as they came out of the bright street and walked off towards a secluded area close to the beach. "You just don't know about those kinds of guys. They most likely would have tried and catch you off guard before dragging you off to a corner."

"Why are you always saying something like that? I'm not going to get jumped on," Rukia scoffed.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You should still be careful. I heard way too many stories of young girls getting attacked even though their karate-masters."

"Psch, then you should go tell that to Tatsuki," Rukia crossed her arms. She looked around as they reached the top of a hill and looked out into the beach where several people were playing with fireworks. "Nothing is going to happen to me so don't worry so much."

Ichigo sighed. "Well if you insist. Just don't come crying to me when somebody jumps on you and starts kissing you."

This time Rukia rolled her eyes. "Nobody is going to kiss me. I'd kill them if they come too close to me."

"It sounds like you've never been kissed," Ichigo smirked.

"…" Rukia kept her mouth shut as she looked out into the ocean.

Ichigo looked down at her, wondering why she hadn't said anything back at him yet when it hit him. "You never been kissed, huh?" his smirk grew.

"Why do you care?" she snarled and looked away.

But Ichigo could see the definite blush on her face. "Aw, is somebody shy?" he teased.

"Shut up!" she screeched at him, turning around to hide her face but Ichigo walked over until he was right in front of her. "Why are you so persistent to know?!"

"Because you're just making me curious. And if you have kissed, you wouldn't be this pissed."

Rukia's left eye started to twitch. "Fine! I never been kissed before, happy! Why do you care so much?! It's not like you ever kissed someone!"

"Now who's curious?" he teased, poking her head with his finger.

Rukia swapped his hand away. "I wasn't asking."

Ichigo smirked. "Still, I'm not as inexperienced as you, if that's what you meant."

"What?" she stared at him, "You actually had a girl before?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Why are you making it sound like it's impossible? I am an adult," he said before grunting a little as he rummaged through his brain for the past. "I guess you could say I was in some sort of relationship but it wasn't long. Heck I don't even now how it started but I ended it really fast. Since then I've been avoiding girls."

"Why? Did she rape you and scar you for life or something?" she asked sarcastically.

Ichigo lightly flicked her forehead. "Don't be stupid. You're just bothered with the fact you haven't been kissed yet. I bet it's all because of your sexual tension piling up in you. You should read some stuff from Freud."

Rukia blushed and pushed him away from her. "As if! And why does it matter if I haven't had a kiss yet?! It's not like it's the end of the world!"

"It can be seen that way since you're most likely the only one among your age group that hasn't gotten kissed yet," Ichigo snickered.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him, her blush full on. Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "And that's not true!"

"Sure it isn't," Ichigo chuckled, "I bet it bothers you ever time one of your friends talk about their kissing experiences. Heck, I even know Tatsuki had her kiss too."

"How would you even know that?" she asked.

"Because I knew the guy she kissed. He used to go to her dojo," Ichigo shrugged, "But that's beside the point. The problem here is that your lips are still a 'virgin,'" he pressed his finger against her lips.

Rukia blushed before pushing him away. "It's not a problem! And it's not like it's a big deal!"

"If it isn't then why haven't you kissed anyone yet?" Ichigo smirked.

"B-be-because!"

"Because what?" he pestered.

Rukia glared at him, biting her lower lip with full anger. "Fine! If it's such a big deal then here!" Before Ichigo could figure out what she was about to do, Rukia grabbed the front of his black wife-beater and yanked him down to her height before smashing her lips fully against him.

Everything happened way too fast for Ichigo to react or even comprehend what was happening. One moment he was teasing her just for fun because her blush was too cute. But now, with his eyes wide open, he was looking directly at Rukia's tightly shut eyes as her lips pressed against his. They were both stiff, not really sure what was going on.

_She's kissing me…_Ichigo thought to himself, _Kuchiki Rukia is actually kissing me!_

But she was too stiff with her lower lip slightly trembling with innocence. It was too cute for him to just stay still anymore. Just as he was about to respond, Rukia quickly pulled away and covered her lips and her blush with a raised arm.

"There's the stupid kiss you kept making fun of! I hope you're satisfied," she yelled at him before quickly turning around to walk away. She was too embarrassed at what she just did. Heck, she didn't even know why she did it in the first place.

But Ichigo was growling deep in his throat. There was no way he was going to end it this way. "Oi."

"WHAT?!" Rukia turned around with the most menacing look but it quickly melted away like a stick of butter on frying pan when Ichigo grabbed both sides of her face and smashed his lips against hers.

At first she stood rigid, eyes wide open, completely shocked at what was happening. But once it started registering, she shut her eyes tightly and tried to push him away.

"Ichi—mmph!"

When Ichigo heard his name escaping her lips it told him she was still too sane against him so he pressed his lips even harder, bringing out his tongue to lick across her shaking lips.

Rukia couldn't suppress the small whimper when she felt his wet muscle coming out between his lips and trying to enter her own mouth. She tried to fight him off, though with only half the effort of before, but gasped when one of Ichigo's hands snaked around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. Taking the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ichigo delved his tongue deep and thick into her mouth and allowed himself to groan at the back of his throat. He was tasting her sweet taste in her hot orifice and it was slowly driving him crazy.

Any of Rukia's remaining thought of pushing Ichigo away flew out of her mind along with her sanity the moment she felt his tongue against her own. As his tongue teased her own to join him in a fierce battle, she felt her knees going weak. Her grip on his shoulders tightened to keep herself up.

Ichigo moved his mouth and tongue fiercely against Rukia's, not sure how this all started. He was making fun of her about never having kissed anyone when she suddenly pressed her lips against him, shaking as sign of uncertainty. But when she pulled back before he had a change to respond, Ichigo felt an unsatisfying feeling bubbling up from his stomach. So he just grabbed her and from there allowed his body to take over his brain.

Sometimes, it's best to just go with the moment, especially if you're kissing someone like Kuchiki Rukia.

There was no way this was Rukia's first kiss. Ichigo had to use all that he could to keep up the battle against her. Their tongues met and massaged against each other, and now, teeth were involved. She might have said she never kissed before but she was matching him just too well that he was getting annoyed. If she really did kiss someone else before, he was going to rip that bastard's tongue out if he meets him. But he was going to trust Rukia and take in the pleasure of being the first to taste her sweetness.

Rukia did NOT know what she was doing. Like Ichigo, she was merely going with instincts, but who would have thought it would be this direct?

After several minutes of hot, all-out-war between their mouths Rukia finally pulled back when the lack of air became too much. When Ichigo felt her pulling away, he leaned forward to nip at her swollen lips a few more times before letting it slip out. He brought his chin back but left his forehead against hers as they both took deep breathes to calm their erratic hearts.

Ichigo's thumb, which was still on one side of her face, started making small circular motion to massage her tight jaw. "Hey," he breathed out.

Rukia took in a deep breath and let out a small chuckle. "Don't tell me you did all that just to say _that_," she joked.

This time Ichigo chuckled as he lightly brushed his lips against hers. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled. "Hey," he repeated.

Rukia looked up at him and smiled back. "Hey."

"OI!"

The two dropped their grips on each other and turned around to see Karin waving at them from below the hill.

"STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME AN 'AUNT' AND HURRY UP AND COME DOWN HERE!"

Ichigo groaned. "ALRIGHT!" he shouted back at her before looking down at Rukia. "Ready to go?" he extended his hand again.

Rukia looked at his open hand and smiled sweetly before placing her hand on top of it. But this time, their fingers intertwined perfectly against each other as Ichigo led them down the hill to where his family was waiting in the sand.

"Oi."

Ichigo looked over to see Rukia smiling at him with a wide smile.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she grinned.

Ichigo smirked before turning around and continuing his way to the beach. "No problem, midget."

* * *

A/N: AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

The two FINALLY kissed!!!!! I'm not that good in describing these 'tasteful' experiences but I hope it wasn't too bad. I was kinda rushed. Anyways, I just HAD to get these two together now or else it would just keep dragging the story. Get ready for a hotter summer and more drama!

Anyways, don't forget to review!

Preview for next chapter:

Ichigo and Rukia are back home with one more week of break left. Things are getting HOT but who is this annoying person who keeps bothering them?!


	12. 12 Summer Break IV

**Author's Notes: OMG, Thank you so much for all the reviews!!! I can't believe how many people are reading my story.**

**This is the final part of their summer break, and it starts off a bit confusing since I skipped ahead in time, but there's a flashback in the middle so it should be fine. And notice how I changed the rating to M now!!! *gasp*  
**

**Again, I would like to apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes. I'm in such a hurry these days that I can't find all of them. And it's really hard to locate tiny errors. I try my best to fix them but I'm not perfect (nor is my english)**

**Please, read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 12: Summer Break IV

* * *

Ichigo groaned as he watched Rukia suffering in front of him. "You're doing it all wrong again."

"ARGH!" she screamed, throwing her arms in the air. "I GIVE UP!"

Ichigo shook his head in annoyance. "Tell me again how you're the class rep.?"

Rukia turned around and glared at him, shutting him up immediately.

It was the last week of summer break and Rukia was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table trying to finish up her math homework. But Ichigo, who was lying face-down on the couch behind her, was making things worse by pointing out every one of her mistakes for each problem.

She couldn't explain it. Just a few weeks back she was doing extremely well in that calculus class but that short-teacher decided to teach new materials on the last few days! And what's more, he assigned _way_ too many homework that went beyond what Ichigo knew.

"Can I kill Hitsugaya-sensei now?" she groaned.

"No because that would be illegal," he replied, patting her head, "Just calm down and think about it. That kid is pretty good at giving easy explanations; heck, he helped me out a lot in high school too."

Rukia groaned as she dropped her head on the table. "I just can't make sense of anything."

Ichigo chuckled as he sat up, grunting as he stretched his muscles. "Let me make lunch while you tackle this," he said. Leaning forward, Ichigo swept her hair aside to place a light kiss on the back of her neck before standing up and making his way to the kitchen.

"…I want something cheesy," she shouted out to him.

"We had pizza last night. Think of something more creative," he shouted back.

Rukia sighed as she stretched her arms across the table in front of her. "Well, how about something refreshing? It's freakin' hot right now."

Ichigo, who was peering inside the refrigerator, nodded to himself. "There are some soba noodles. Want to eat some zaru soba*?"

"Yes!" she cheered.

Ichigo pulled out the soup base from the refrigerator and placed it on the kitchen counter. He grabbed a pot and started to boil some water. "How's it going over there?" he called out to her as the noodles started to cook.

He only got a groan as a response causing him to laugh outloud.

After coming back from the beach, their relationship has gone better…well, the yelling and kicking (on her part at least) was still there, but now they (more like _he_) couldn't keep their hands off each other.

He'd catch her off guard, either in the kitchen or in the living room, grabbing her from random places to just slobber kisses all over her. At first she was either too shocked or too embarrassed to do anything. But in a few days she started to respond…not just respond, but battle out for dominance.

Ichigo smirked as he thought back to the last few days they were at the beach. At first it was awkward to look at her after their first kiss. But on the last night of the trip, the tension was so great, especially since they were sharing a room, that Ichigo did what any normal man would do…sadly, it didn't end the way he wanted it to.

_Flashback_

_Ichigo groaned as switched position on the futon located right next to the bed. It was the last day of their trip and they were planning on driving back to Karakura the next day so he was trying to sleep as much as possible but it was impossible. The air conditioner just HAD to break on the last day, making the heat unbearable._

"_Fuck," he cursed as he sat up and quickly ripped his shirt off. He was literally sweating through all his clothes!  
_

"_Is there not even a single fan in this house?"_

_Ichigo turned around to see Rukia not doing any better on top of the bed. She was panting from the lack of air. Ichigo scratched his head and groaned. "There is but my sisters are using it. My dad just went out to borrow one from the Watanbe's so just wait a bit more."_

"_Mo, I can't take it anymore!" she groaned before pulling off her shirt._

_A blush spread across Ichigo's cheek and he started to freak out. "R-RUKIA! What the fuck are you doing?!"_

_Rukia huffed out heavy breathes before looking at him. "I'm still wearing a bikini underneath so don't act too embarrassed. And it's way too hot to even think about being proper right now."_

"_Still," Ichigo looked away, "You could've warned me a little."_

_Rukia was about to snap back as she usually does but immediately reddened when her mind suddenly went back to the festive night only a few days ago. "Oh," she whispered as she looked away too._

_An awkward silence surrounded their room and the heat was just making things worse. Ichigo tried to ignore it, but his eyes just kept going back to Rukia who was looking out the window. But what was really catching his eyes was the fact she was practically sweating through her light-colored bikini and he could see the definite shape of her breast. Sure he enjoyed every moment of their kiss all those days ago but he knew he regretted it. After all, she was his student no matter what role they were playing in front of his family at the moment. _

_But that didn't mean she wasn't a woman—Ichigo snapped his eye shut and looked off at the wall opposite of the window to stop his indecent thoughts. But his breathing was deeper now._

_When she heard his huffing breath, Rukia looked over in concern. "Ichigo? You okay?"_

"_Y-yeah," he stuttered, rubbing his head with his hand. _Student, student, STUDENT!

"_Are you sure? You're breathing really hard," she said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Ichigo?"_

_The moment he felt her delicate hand on his shoulders, whatever resolve he had snapped. "Fuck it!" he cursed before jumping on the bed._

"_Ichigo?!" Rukia squeaked when Ichigo jumped on her. "What are you—" For the second time her words got cut off when Ichigo grabbed the back of her head and dragged her to him as he kissed her fully on the mouth._

_Her eyes widened at the impact. She raised her hand to try and push him away but the moment she felt his tongue ran across her lips, her strength immediately disappeared and she gave in again._

_Ichigo groaned in approval when he felt her parting her lips for him to enter. Ichigo gently nipped her lips before slipping his tongue into her at the same time pushing her slightly back, both landing on the bed._

_Rukia whimpered the moment she felt the soft mattress on her back and Ichigo almost lost control at the sweet sound. His kiss became deeper and even more forceful as he held onto either side of her face. His thumbs massaged her jaw to keep her relaxed as his tongue performed another battle with her own._

"_Rukia," he breathed against her as his lips started to kiss their way down her neck._

_The woman moaned as his tongue licked at every drop of sweat that was now falling because of him and not so much because of the heat. One of her arms wrapped around his shoulders as the other one ran a path down his muscular back. She heard a small groan against her neck as her fingers travelled down his wet skin._

"_Rukia," he moaned again as a hand came down and started to gently knead one of her breasts._

"_Ichigo!" she gasped before biting her lower lip to stop her voice from getting any louder. After all, the twins were still in the other room, not sleeping since noise was unmistakably coming through the walls._

_Ichigo's confidence grew even more when she arched her back, rubbing her clothed-chest against his bare one. He then felt her hand running down his chest, feeling all the bumps and shapes of his muscles. His breathing hitched as he bit down on her pulse point. His hand immediately clamped down on her mouth to block her startled yelp as his tongue smoothed the pain._

"_Rukia, relax for me," he whispered as he came back up to suck her lower lip in-between his own lips. "Baby, tell me you like what I'm doing to you," he smirked as his fingers started to tug on her hardening nipple through her bikini._

_Rukia gasped at the sensation. "I-Ichigo," she whimpered, closing her eyes to feel everything he was offering her, "D-don't you dare stop," she ordered._

_Ichigo loved how responsive she was becoming. "As you wish," he smirked before mashing their lips together. And he _almost _moaned when her tongue came out to meet his. The hand that was on her breast came down to play with the hem of her thin skirt before shoving his fingers between the skirt and her wet skin. Rukia moaned as she felt his fingers playing against her skin. And just as he was about to move up higher—_

_BAM!_

_The two jumped away from each other as if they touched something hot when the door suddenly swung open and slammed against the opposite wall. They dared not look over to the door, mentally hoping for the same thing:_

Please say you didn't see anything!

_But life was never fair._

"_KYA! Masaki! We're going to be grandparents soon!" Isshin squealed causing the two to stiffen._

"_GET OUT!" Ichigo yelled at him with his red face._

"_Don't be shy my son!" Isshin laughed, "It's completely normal for young people to express their love—"_

"_That's it!" Ichigo cut his father off by running after him. "Come back here you perverted bastard!"_

_Rukia watched in silence as Ichigo chased after his father, with Isshin screaming "MY SON IS A MAN! HE'S NOT IMPOTENT! I'M GOING TO BE GRANDFATHER!!!!" and with Ichigo yelling at him to shut up. She sighed. This was _not_ how she was hoping to end this once-great vacation._

"_What's going on Rukia-neesan?"_

_Rukia looked up to see Yuzu and Karin standing by the open door. She shook her head. "You seriously don't want to know."_

_---_

Ichigo smirked against her neck as his tongue flicked against her pulse point.

"Ichigo," Rukia gasped as Ichigo's ministration became even more intense every time she became more responsive.

They had just finished their cool lunch. And since Ichigo made the meal, Rukia was automatically in charge of washing the dishes. Just as she finished and turned off the faucet, she felt his warm body right behind her and Ichigo's mouth suddenly attacking her neck.

With each passing day he was jumping on her more often and with more force that it was slowly driving her mad.

"Eungh," she bit her lower lip as a moan came out. Ichigo's hands were in front of her, kneading her hips in his tight grip as his mouth bit down on her again. "Ichigo! Don't—mhmm, d-don't leave a mark," she gasped.

Ichigo snickered against her neck before whispering into her ear. "You can easily cover it up so don't worry."

"Still," she trembled when he suddenly brought up one of his hands to her breast and starting palming it. "Y-you're be-ah!-becoming aggressive, a-aren't you," she stuttered as he took a hard nipple and started rolling it around his fingers.

"What do you expect me to do when you're not even fighting against me," Ichigo replied before he grabbed her arm and turned her around. Rukia was startled when she was swung around but immediately held onto his shoulders when he grabbed the back of her legs and pulled her up to situate her on top of the counter before diving for her lips. She obediently opened her mouth to him and moaned at the feel of his tongue pressing against her own.

Ichigo loved the sweet noises that were coming from Rukia and just as it was starting to come from his throat as well, they were interrupted.

_Ding Dong!_

The two immediately froze when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Rukia slowly looked up to see Ichigo glaring at the door but not moving to answer it. "Aren't you going to go see who that is?" she asked.

"Che, no thanks. I might just kill the guy for bothering us," he snorted before looking back at her. "Just ignore it," he said as he claimed her lips back.

But Rukia was having a hard time going back to their intense make out session when the bell rung for the second time. "Ichigo, I think you should check it out," she nudged his shoulder.

Ichigo groaned. "Fine, just stay—"

"_Kurosaki-kun? Are you there?"_

Ichigo froze when he heard the unmistakable voice of Inoue Orihime coming from the other side of the door.

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_ She called a bit more earnestly this time as she rung the door bell several more times.

Rukia watched the door in utter disbelief. Why was that woman here?! "Did you lock the doors?" she asked. Ichigo simply replied with a nod when suddenly the doorknob was twisting left and right from the other side. It seemed like Orihime was trying to open the door! But luckily she couldn't since it was locked. However, the ringing wasn't stopping nor did she stop calling out his name.

"What is she doing here?" Ichigo groaned quietly as he held onto Rukia even tighter. "Hopefully she'll leave once she realizes the doors not going to open."

"Not likely," Rukia muttered as Orihime tried opening the door again. "Maybe you should just go and tell her to leave."

"Che," Ichigo snorted as he placed his head against her neck and shoulder to block out the annoying ringing, "That woman's been trying to get at me for years so I know her ways. She won't go away; she'll just invite herself in and stay as long as possible. It happened many times in the past."

"Is she mental or something?" Rukia asked as Orhime called "_Kurosaki-kun!_" a few more times from outside.

Ichigo smirked against her. "No, just persistent. She's a loyal friend that everyone would die to have, but the down-side is that she doesn't know how to take a 'no' for an answer. Inoue says she's over me but she's been bothering me nonstop even when I moved to Tokyo. Not to mention she still goes around saying her ideal type of guy is someone with natural orange hair and a permanent scowl on his face."

Rukia chuckled. "Inoue-sensei must really love you," she whispered but felt a million angry veins popping out of her forehead when the ringing didn't stop. "Can you please get the door? If this continues I just might do it."

Ichigo sighed. "But I really don't want to see her."

"Then I'll just—" Rukia stopped when she heard a second—female—voice coming from outside.

This person was talking to Orihime but their words were being muffled by the door. However, Ichigo and Rukia could clearly distinct 'disturbance' and 'Ichigo's out' coming from the other person. Soon enough, they heard footsteps walking away from their door and then it became silent.

After several seconds, Rukia asked, "Do you think it's safe?"

"I don't know," Ichigo answered as he helped Rukia off the counter top. She went to the living room while he went to the door to look through the peephole. "Yeah, seems like she's finally gone."

"I wonder who that other person was," Rukia said as she sat on the couch and waited for Ichigo to join her.

The orange head shook his head as he sat next to her. "Don't know, but I should figure it out so I can send her a gift basket," he smirked before pushing Rukia onto her back on the couch. "Now, where were we?" he went straight for her lips which were slightly parted when he pushed her down.

Rukia moaned in approval as her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him in closer. He angled his neck to the side to reach deeper into her mouth with his tongue. He groaned with annoyance though when he noticed her clamped legs were prohibiting him from going closer so he grabbed either leg and parted them. He settled himself between her legs which unconsciously wrapped around his firm waist.

The closeness was now starting to get to her. Rukia was blushing madly as she felt his body fully over hers and gasped as his arm came around her back to pull her up so her chest would meet his.

One of Ichigo's hands was still on one of her legs, gently rubbing up and down as he continued playing with her swollen lips. Feeling more confident after hearing her moan for the nth time that day, Ichigo gently slid his hand under her hiked skirt, closer and closer to the part where her legs connected with her hips.

"Ichigo," she gasped, arching her body even more.

A growl came from the back of his throat as Ichigo started to smother her faces with his open kisses. He was about to push his hand up higher to trace over her panties when—

_Ring Ring Ring! Ring Ring Ring!_

Ichigo let out a frustrated groan when the home phone started to ring off the hook.

"Ichigo," Rukia huffed out in deep breaths, "Hurry up and get it."

"No," he groaned as he went back to kissing her neck. "I don't want to be interrupted anymore."

The deep tone of his voice got Rukia to nod in agreement with him as she brought his head back up to kiss her lips again. And just as Ichigo was about to grab her panties again—

"_Kurosaki-kun?"_

The two stopped their ministration and their breathing also stilled when they suddenly heard Orihime's voice coming from the answering machine. Ichigo smothered his angry growl against Rukia's neck.

"_Ano, I came by your place today but I guess you weren't home,_" she started, "_Ishida-kun told me you would be home since you came back from your vacation, but maybe you went out."_

"I would have been blowing my mind out by now if it weren't for you," Ichigo mumbled, earning him a light smack on the head from Rukia.

"_Anyways, I just needed to talk to you about something…Something really important so please call me back as soon as you get this message. If you want, I can come over again later and maybe we can meet then…or if you're busy we can meet somewhere else. I remember how you liked that little restaurant close to my place when we were in high school. Want to go have dinner there with me?—Ah! I'm not trying to ask you ou—I mean, ano…" _the pause continued for a few more seconds before her voice came back. Rukia's eye started to twitch when she could practically 'see' the blush on Orihime's face on the other side, "_I really want to talk to you. Please say you will meet with me. I will be waiting for your call."_

The line disconnected on the other side and the answering machine turned off after Orihime _finally _hung up.

Ichigo released a sigh of relief as the apartment got quiet again. He looked down at Rukia ready to start again when he noticed a frown on her face, her eyes still at the answering machine. "Oi, pay attention," he snarled.

Rukia looked back at him with a stern look. "Does it really look like I want to do something after _that?_" she pointed to the machine.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Just ignore it," he said and tried to dive for her lips again but Rukia turned away. "Com'on, are you seriously going to let that stupid phone call stop us?" he asked.

"Are you going to call her back?" she simply asked.

A growl escaped his lips when she ignored his own question. He gently, but firmly, grabbed her chin and brought it up so she was looking at him again. He was staring down at her with his intense eyes as he lowered his lips. "No," he replied, lips moving above hers as he whispered against her, "How can I when I'm completely wrapped up with someone like you right now?"

Rukia's eyes widened at his startling confession when he took the opportunity to come at her lips again. This time she didn't avoid him but lightly moaned as their lips danced against each other in gently movements.

Knowing her mind was back on him and only him, Ichigo decided not to waste anymore time. His hand, which was still under her skirt, finally made its way up to the hem of her panties. He lightly traced over the lace, drawing out a sensual moan from Rukia who was squirming under him. It took all of him to not lose complete control as he tried to steady himself. He didn't want to rush into things but take their time to enjoy every moment of it. But with her constant moaning, squirming, and not to mention her nails clawing him against his shirt was making his hand on her panties twitch with anticipation.

"Slow down baby," he mumbled with one of her lips in between his own.

"Ichi-go," she only replied as she arched against him again.

Ichigo growled as he fingers finally hooked onto her panties—

_Ring Ring Ring!_

"Oh come on!" Ichigo screamed as he dropped his head against Rukia's shoulder again. Every time he was ready to take the bigger step someone just had to interrupt him!

Rukia was not doing any better than Ichigo. The moment she heard the phone again, she let out a frustrated groan and glared at the phone.

The machine got the call again, but this time another voice came on.

"_Oi Ichigo! It's me, Yoruichi. I know you're there so pick up!"_

There was a pause of confusion as Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other, both wondering the same two things: why is Yoruichi calling? And should they pick it up?

"_Take your damn hands out of Kuchiki's skirt and answer—"_

"Shut up!" Ichigo screamed into the phone. His eyebrows knitted together when he heard the annoying laughter of the older woman on the other side of the phone. He had immediately jumped up to answer the call the moment she mentioned about his hands up Rukia's skirt… yes it was true, but she didn't need to say it like that.

Ichigo's eyes strayed to a blushing Rukia who was trying to readjust her clothes as she picked up her homework. She mumbled something about going back to her room to finish it, and quickly disappeared.

Ichigo released a frustrated groan at the lost opportunity of having Rukia against him. "What the fuck do you want?" he growled.

"_Oh, somebody's angry. Did I just 'cockblock' you?"_ Yoruichi snickered.

Ichigo cringed. "I really don't want to talk about something like that with you."

Yoruichi chuckled. "_Fine. I just wanted to let you know two things. First, you forgot to fill up Kisuke's car when you returned it so now that bastard is stuck in the middle of nowhere—"_

_Meanwhile_, in the middle of nowhere…

"Yoruichi! Quickly send Tessai over!" Urahara screamed into the blazing hot sun as he lied on top of his dead car.

"—_And second, I was by your place a little while ago and I was the one who got rid of that Inoue girl. Seriously, she was about to knock your door down."_

"So it was you, huh?" Ichigo sighed, "Anyways, thanks for doing that."

"_No problem. I know how persistent that girl is," _Yoruichi responded, _"She's a really nice girl but she just has to realize that you're not going to go out with her. Hasn't years of separation been enough to tell her to move on?"_

"I wish I knew the answer to that one. But according to Ishida, she's still hoping for the impossible," Ichigo grumbled as he rubbed his face.

"_Oh, it's impossible? Does that mean little Ichigo finally decide to settle down? Is it with Kuchiki?"_

A blush ran across Ichigo's. "W-what are you talking about ?!"

Yoruichi laughed out loud. _"Aw, don't act shy Ichigo. I know you were trying to get busy with Kuchiki. Why, was the vacation to beach not enough _alone_ time with her?"_

"Shut up!" Ichigo screamed into the phone, "There's nothing going on! Or did you forget she's my student?!"

"_More like _you_ forgot about that," _Yoruichi said in a stern voice that froze Ichigo in his seat. "_I'm right, aren't I?" _she continued after hearing no response from the other line.

"…Shut up, Yoruichi," Ichigo growled lowly as he quickly hung up the phone. He stayed still on the couch as her last few sentence kept playing over and over again in his head.

After a few more minutes, Ichigo pushed himself up and made his way to his room. But just as he passed Rukia's room, he stopped and stared at her closed door. He didn't know how long he stood there or when his hand came up, but just as his tight fist was about to make contact with her door, he stopped and stood still. Then, his fist fell next to his side like a dead-weight, and he quickly went into his room, slamming the door shut out of frustration.

He dropped his heavy body onto the bed, burying his head into his pillow to muffle the sound of his groan.

Today started out mediocre and then into something fabulous, and now, it felt like a whole ton of weight fell on his shoulders.

First of all, he was getting annoyed by Inoue and her persistent attitude. Sure she was his good friend from high school but she was still dreaming of becoming someone more in his life. Something he could never give her, especially now that he has…

Wait.

Has who?

Rukia?

Ichigo frowned at the thought. How could he possibly _have_ Rukia when she's his student? Now that he was thinking about it, ever since they went to the beach he hadn't been contemplating about their 'professional' relationship every time they were together, especially when he attacked her to ravage her mouth. And seeing how Rukia never really fought to stop him she hadn't thought about it either.

But the problem was that they were going back to school in a few days, to a place where they would be constantly reminded of the relationship that they _should _be having, only to multiply their guilt by the thousands. Which means they'll have to stay away from each other—

Ichigo groaned for the nth time that day.

It was easier said then done. He knew he wouldn't be able to easily give up the sweet, delicious drug that was Kuchiki Rukia. If he could somehow make Rukia-flavored candies, he knew he'd make a fortune out of it…Of course that'll never happen since he's not going to let anyone taste her but him.

Ichigo groaned again as his mind suddenly became possessive.

As he continued thinking about all the complications that suddenly entered his life, Ichigo's consciousness slipped away. He hadn't even realized that he fell asleep until he was suddenly jerked awake several hours later.

"Ichigo."

"What?" Ichigo looked around to see it was late in the evening now. His room was completely dark except for the small bit of light that was shining into his room from the hallway. He looked up to see who woke him up when his breath got taken away from him.

Kuchiki Rukia was kneeling on his bed, looking at him with her hypnotic eyes that sucked him in.

"Ichigo," she called his name again, "I just came to ask if you wanted to have dinner. It's already eight."

Ichigo released the breath he didn't know—nor knew why—he was holding. "N-no," his voice croaked, "I don't need to eat." Shit, the things Rukia does to him.

Rukia looked at him with a frown. "You sure?" she asked as she reached over to part his orange bangs off his sweaty forehead, "You don't look so good. Maybe you should eat something."

Ichigo shook his head. "I'm fine," he answered a bit too aggressively.

Rukia glared at him. "Fine, don't eat. Heck, starve to death for all I care! I come in here to offer you something to calm you down but you just turn it down like I'm going to poison your food." She stood up from his bed and started to walk away.

"Rukia," Ichigo growled.

"What?" she turned around to glare at him but was startled when his hand reached out to grab her wrist and drag her petite body back to his bed. "Ichigo!" she squeaked as she landed on top of him.

When she started to struggle against him, Ichigo wrapped an arm around her waist and used the other hand to hold onto her chin. "Stay still," he ordered.

Rukia stiffened when she heard his stern tone. He never talked to her like that. She looked up to see Ichigo's amber eyes probing her face as if wanting to embed every last bit of detail about her face into his brain. Just the thought of that caused her to blush. "Ichigo—"

"Stay with me," he whispered in a low husky voice that send shiver down her spine. Before Rukia could answer, Ichigo flipped them over so he was now hovering above her. He leaned down and dangerously whispered "Don't leave me."

The moment his intense eyes connected with her startled ones was when she realized his was being seriously. Her throat suddenly dried up and all she could do was swallow and nod.

That was all Ichigo needed to claim her lips for the hundredth time that day, all previous thoughts of concern flying out of his mind.

As if setting off a trigger, Rukia started moaning against his lips and responding just the way he liked it. She held onto his shoulders as he was allowed free access to once again run his hand all over her body.

Petite it may be, but it was all woman.

The two angled their mouth to opposite directions to deepen their kiss as they became even more heated with each strangled moan that escaped their mouth and entered the other person's. His hand started to roam down her body as it reached for the hem of her shirt. His fingers slipped under the cloth and made its way upwards.

Rukia's concentration on Ichigo's lips stopped the moment she felt his fingers picking on her nipple. "I-Ichi-g-go," she gasped. Though her mouth stopped moving, Ichigo kept his tongue inside her mouth as his fingers continued its magic on her breast.

"Rukia," he sighed as he finally moved his mouth across her jaw and to her neck. Without even being asked, Rukia moved her head to the side to allow him more access as her grip on his shirt tightened. Getting annoyed that he still wasn't touching enough of her he slipped his eager fingers under her bra and resumed his ministration. Rukia reacted even more at the sudden skin-to-skin contact.

The heat was becoming almost unbearable to Rukia as she felt a warm feeling running across her lower stomach. Bothered that she wasn't feeling enough of him while he was touching some of her most intimate parts, Rukia grabbed his clothes and pulled it up.

When Ichigo felt her tugging on his shirt, he quickly pulled away from her to help her pull his shirt off before immediately clamping back down to her neck. He fought off a shiver as her curious fingers started to claw on his bare back. Rukia loved the feeling of his broad muscles against her hands that she just couldn't resist one of her hands coming forward to the front.

Ichigo moaned as he felt her cool hand roaming across his chest and back. It was getting too much for the young man. In a single move Ichigo lifted Rukia's shirt up. Her arms were pulled back by the sudden force as her shirt came over her head but it stopped when it got caught at her wrist. Her arms were now held above her head and she couldn't move as Ichigo yanked the bra down to expose her breasts to him.

_Perfect_, was the only word that ran across his mind the moment he saw them.

"Ichigo!" she gasped, her face reddening from suddenly being exposed. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting my share of the fun," he smirked at her before reaching down to touch her. His eyes immediately got glazed over with intense lust.

"B-but," she stuttered, biting her lower lip to stop her moans, "I can't move," she struggled against the binds of her shirt.

"That's the point," he snickered before lowering his lips.

Rukia felt her breathing stop the moment she felt his lips puckering down on her nipple. Her eyes closed shut as she felt one of her breasts being touched in a way she never knew it could be touched. She gasped the moment Ichigo's tongue flickered across the nipple, soon starting to suck on it.

"Ichigo," she huffed out in deep breathes, "I-ah!" she squeaked when one of his hands plucked and play with her neglected breast at the same time. He transitioned from one after the other while Rukia could only pant with her hands still bound above her.

Ichigo groaned when Rukia unconsciously moved and rubbed against his groin. "R-Rukia," he stuttered, "Don't move around too much," he said as he went back to kiss her red lips. "You're making things harder for me."

"How is that? Isn't it helping?" she teased against his lips.

Ichigo chuckled as he kissed her and she returned it. He suddenly stopped and huffed out a deep breath. "We should really stop now," he muttered.

But Rukia would have none of it. She started to grind herself against his still form. "Ichigo," she pouted, "Don't leave me."

Ichigo groaned as he held her hips to steady her. "I won't but we have to stop." He removed his hands off her body and quickly pulled her bra back to cover her breasts and her shirt to fully cover her luscious body.

"Why?" she quietly whined.

"Because," he leaned over to kiss her lips before continuing, "I don't want you to hate me when you wake up tomorrow, baby. Now, let's just go to sleep," he smiled before pulling the covers—which were barely hanging off the bed—over their bodies.

But Rukia kept her pout. "You're not playing fair, Ichigo."

Ichigo chuckled as he kissed her lower lip that was sticking out. "All in good time, baby. Just try and sleep for now. We did enough for your first night."

Rukia blushed at the thought. She glared at him before turning over to her other side, showing Ichigo her back.

The orange head merely chuckled before he wrapped his arms around her warm body and pulled her into his chest. "Goodnight," he kissed her ear before dropping his head onto the pillow.

"…'Night," she reluctantly replied but snuggled deeper into his warmth.

Ichigo smiled as he closed his eyes and allowed a peaceful sleep to take over him.

For now, no matter how short it would be, he just wanted this peace to stay with them as long as possible. Just like this. Kuchiki Rukia wrapped up against Kurosaki Ichigo. What else could he ask for?

"…"

Of course things weren't so peaceful when he had to go to the bathroom for a quick cold shower to get rid of his blue balls. Maybe things weren't going to be so peaceful from now on.

* * *

A/N: okay, this is NOT one of my favorite chapters: in fact, I had more parts that I wanted to add but I got really lazy (especially since being sick and going to early morning lectures everyday at the same time is now really starting to take a tow on me T.T) I tried my best with it so I hope you guys like it. And as you can see, lemons are on their way!

For those who are not liking how I'm portraying Inoue, don't worry. Her obsessive behavior is only for now and I will make her sane later on.

Please review! It will help me get better faster... THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!! 3

*: a buckwheat noodle dish that is mostly eaten in the summer because it dips cooled soba noodles into a cold dipping sauce…and it's also one of my personal favorites :)


	13. 13 The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Notes: O.O**

**_300_ reviews?! Are you guys serious?!**

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I never knew I'd get this much love!!! THANK YOU so much!!! In a few chapters from now I'll write another 'Thank You Reviewers' list and name everyone who's been reading my story. Seriously, thank you guys so much for sticking with me even through the grammatical/spelling mistakes and awkward chapters. I just can't stop smiling about it.**

**Anyways, here's the new chapter. Thanks again to you guys for liking the previous chapter when I was a bit irritated about it. Sadly, this chapter didn't come out well for me either...but read the title! This chapter is literally the _calm_ before the storm, which will come next week. lol**

**Read and enjoy! And again, THANKS!!!!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 13: The Calm before the Storm

* * *

"Ohayo," Rukia greeted her friends as she entered the classroom.

"Rukia!"

Friends ran over to the door to pull Rukia in for a group hug.

"Rukia! I really missed you during the summer!" Matsumoto squealed.

"Me too," Rukia laughed.

"What have you been up to this summer?" Hinamori asked.

Rukia was released from her friend's hug to answer. "I um, well, I just went to the beach for some fresh air."

"Awww, and you didn't invite us?" Matsumoto pouted.

"Wa li," she smiled.

Hinamori chuckled. "Well , at least you had fun, right?"

Rukia nodded but yelped when Tatsuki suddenly came up from behind and slapped her hard on the back. "Tatsuki! What was that for?"

Tatsuki smiled at her short friend. "For not bringing me along with you. Did you go all by yourself?"

Rukia smiled sweetly at her friends. "Kind of. I actually visited someone I know that lives by the beach," she told them the perfected lie she mastered the day before.

"Rukia!"

The said girl turned around smiled widely at seeing the familiar red hair. "Renji!"

Renji came up and pulled his old friend in for a big bear hug. "Hey, how was your break?"

Rukia hugged back before pulling herself out of his grasp. "Good, yours?"

Renji shrugged. "Not bad, though it would have been better if we hung out."

"This kid here still did pretty well at the tournament," Tatsuki commented as she threw an arm around Renji's shoulder, "My karate tournament took place in the same place as the kendo tournament so I watched all his matches."

Renji smirked as he also threw an arm around the tomboy's shoulder. "And we both got first place!"

"That's nice to hear but you guys better go back to your seats before I decide to give you detention."

The two friends turned around to come face-to-face with their orange-haired homeroom teacher.

Tatsuki scowled. "Jeez, Ichigo, what's wrong with celebrating a little?"

Ichigo glared. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Kurosaki-sensei' during school? And I don't give a shit if you guys won the noble peace prize. Go back to your seat; class already started."

Renji released his friend and pulled Rukia along with him to their seats by the window.

Tatsuki stayed in her spot and placed her hands on her hips. "Jeez, what's up with you and your fucking attitude? Did a girl dump you over the summer or something?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes before gently smacked Tatsuki on the head with a folder he was holding. "Don't be an idiot. I just didn't get enough sleep because I had too many papers to grade. Now go sit down before I get even more annoyed." Tatsuki glared at him before going to her seat. Ichigo quickly went to the front of the class and started attendance.

Rukia kept her eyes down on her desk even when Ichigo called out her name. "Hai," she responded, and Ichigo quickly continued down the list. She didn't think there would be a problem, but her face became really warm the moment she saw Ichigo standing close to her when he first entered the room. She couldn't stop thinking about what's been going on the past week before break was over.

Ichigo, too, kept his gaze off of Rukia during the entire class. When he first called out her name, he had to clear his throat from constricting and had to call out the next student right away. She had it easier since she just had to lower her head to hide her blush, but it wasn't so easy for him since he was the center of attention everyday in class. _Lucky bitch_, he thought to himself.

For almost the entire time last week the two did nothing but fight and make out. It became a routine that they soon started sleeping in the same bed since most of their heavy make out session lasted until late at night.

Fight during the day and make out at night.

It was the perfect system for them.

Of course that was until break was over and they now had to face each other while in school.

"Ne, Kurosaki-sensei, did you finish grading our midterms yet?" a student asked.

Ichigo pulled out a stack of paper and waved it in the air. "I did get it finished and I have to say at least half of you guys did well while the others just bombed the test. Those of you who got lower than 50% should really meet up with me to figure out how to bring up your grades. You guys are in your third-year which means you won't be able to graduate this spring if this keeps up."

Most of the people in the classroom let out a groan.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Shut up and just come up here when I call your name. First up, Arabai Renji," he called out.

One by one student stood up from their seat and came to the front of the classroom to get back their midterms. There were groans of disappointment and squeals of joy coming left and right as each student looked at their grade.

"Kuchiki Rukia."

"Hai," she replied before getting up and going up to the front.

Ichigo handed her her paper and smirked. "Not bad," he whispered.

Rukia raised a brow before turning around and going back to her seat. The moment she sat down she looked at her grade and smiled. There as a red 96% on top of her paper.

Ichigo never allow her to grade her own paper so she finds out her grades the same time as all the other students. And they were mostly a full 100-percent which was enough to keep her position as the class-rep.

Rukia flipped through the pages of writing when a small note at the corner of the third page caught her eyes.

_Oi, midget,_

_Next time remember to actually read the books before the test. I saw you cramming this all in the night before using the internet as a reading guide. I won't be so nice next time._

—_Ichigo_

Rukia couldn't stop a smirk from breaking out as she folded the paper and shoved it into her bag, making sure nobody saw anything.

"Alright, if anyone of you guys needs to complain, email me or wait until tomorrow. I'm going to be busy with preparations for the festival, so don't bother me," Ichigo told the class before looking at the class rep., "And come to my office during lunch, Kuchiki."

Rukia looked up and nodded, "Hai, sensei."

Ichigo nodded back before turning around and writing on the board. "Okay, starting this new trimester, we're going to study tragic stories. Now…"

---

A small moan came from Rukia's lips as she ran her fingers through the orange tresses, getting a low growl in return.

She forced her eyes to open and look towards the door. "We really should stop," she huffed, "Somebody might come in—"

"The door's locked," Ichigo replied as he continued harassing her creamy neck.

Rukia lightly pouted. "Still, I don't want to take any chances."

Ichigo stopped his exploration on her neck and came back up to glare at her. "You sure do know how to ruin the moment."

Rukia smiled. "I just love making your life miserable," she teased before leaning down to slowly kiss his lips.

It was lunch time, which meant Rukia was supposed to be in Ichigo's office to discuss about the upcoming festival.

Note the key word: _suppose_.

The moment Rukia entered his office Ichigo immediately closed it and locked the door. She would have been shocked by his sudden action, but decided it wasn't necessary since deep down she was kind of hoping for something like this to happen.

He turned her around to kiss her on the lips. It continued for several minutes before they finally pulled away since they really needed to work. He led them to his desk and he sat down on his seat. But the moment Rukia sat on top of his desk Ichigo couldn't stop the hunger that grew from within him and so he claimed her lips again.

And thus leads them back to where they were now. Rukia was still sitting on his desk while he was still in his seat. The two were slowly kissing, not as passionately as other times but more sweet and caring; weak enough that they can pull away from each other without feeling too flushed but strong enough to make them want to continue as long as possible.

Finally, Ichigo pulled away but not before gently sucking on her lower lip one more time. "We could just wait to finish this planning thing at home. It's not like it's going to make much of a difference."

Rukia laughed. "No way. When we're home we just do one of three things: one, we go do our separate work: me and my homework and you and your grading; two, we start bickering with each other until we're about ready to rip each other's heads off; or three—" she paused for a moment to lightly brush her lips against his lips, "—we make out to the extent we don't give a shit about anything else."

"Che, why are you making it sound like it's a bad thing?" Ichigo asked.

"Who said anything about it being 'bad'?" Rukia answered, "I enjoy it just as much as you do."

Ichigo smirked as he unwrapped his tight grip around her waist and sat back on his chair. He looked up and peered at the clock. "Well, we only go ten minutes left before breaks over. What do you want to discuss about during then?"

Rukia jumped off the desk and this time just leaned back against it. "Well, I guess we can discuss about the finances for the festival."

Ichigo nodded as he reached over to one side of his desk and pulled out a paper. "Ishida gave me an updated list of how much we are allowed to use. And there's some stuff the school still has from last year so you shouldn't buy something we already have. Take a look," he handed her the paper.

"This looks good," Rukia nodded, "I guess our class can set up the café without too munc difficulty."

"Yeah about that," Ichigo scowled, "I heard from some staff members that you and the student council already discussed about it before break started?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Ichigo closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "And I heard Keigo proposed the idea."

Rukia suddenly figured out where he was going with this. Her expression became something similar to his. "Yeah," she groaned.

"And the others agreed to have your class go with it?" he asked, hoping beyond hope it wasn't true.

But Rukia just couldn't lie. "Yeah, Keigo's idea was accepted."

Ichigo groaned as he limbs fell to his sides and his body sagged on the chair. "I'm going to kill that bastard."

Rukia looked at him and giggled. "You really don't like the idea, do you?"

Ichigo shook his head before pulling up a heavy arm up. Rukia pushed herself off the desk and went to sit on Ichigo's lap as his extended arm came around and tightened around her waist. Rukia buried her head on top of his hair as she ran one of her hands through it. Ichigo held onto her and took in her sweet scent with each breath. "You do know what he's going to do, right?"

"I know," she whispered, kissing him on the forehead, "Don't worry. I'll try and talk to Ishida-sensei about it."

"Too late," Ichigo groaned, "That pansy already made all the important stuff."

This time Rukia groaned as she buried her nose deeper in his hair. "Then looks like there _is_ something to worry about."

Ichigo chuckled as he pushed his head back to look directly into her violet irises. "I'll just kill Keigo later."

Rukia smiled as she came down to gently claim his lips. The two moved softly with smoothing kisses that made them moan softly in affection. The two smiled as Rukia began to place butterfly kisses on his face.

Just as Ichigo wanted to make the kiss deeper, Rukia suddenly pulled away. He looked to see her suddenly distressed. "What's wrong?"

Rukia stared at him before looking away. "I suddenly remembered something…"

"What?" he asked again as he took the opportunity to place small kisses along her neck.

Rukia tried to shrug him off. "About Inoue-sensei."

Ichigo immediately stiffened and his lips stopped moving. For a few seconds the two were silent before he pulled his head back to glare at her. "What about Inoue?"

"…I was just wondering if you talked to her yet," Rukia mumbled.

Ichigo stared at her before releasing a deep sigh. "No, at least not really," he told her as he brought her body closer to his, "This morning she came up to me to ask why I didn't call her."

"And what did you tell her?" Rukia asked as her hand stroked his hair.

Ichigo frowned as he thought back to what happened after the morning staff meeting.

_Flashback_

"_Kurosaki-kun! Ishida-kun!"_

_Ichigo froze in his spot when Orihime suddenly approached him. He stopped a groan from coming out. Uryuu, who was walking with him, stopped as well. _

"_Ohayo, Inoue-san," Uryuu greeted her._

"_Ohayo," she greeted back as she stopped in front of them._

"_Hey Inoue, how was your break?" Ichigo asked._

_Orihime smiled sweetly. "It was fine. I visited some of my friends in Kyoto."_

_Ichigo frowned. "Kyoto? Didn't you say you were planning on going to Okinawa with Chad and Ishida?"_

"_Excuse me?" Uryuu raised an eyebrow._

"_Ah!" Orihime quickly shook her head and waved her arms around, "N-no, I was, um…well, I was planning on calling them for the trip b-but—eh, my friends suddenly called me and I went to Kyoto instead!" she nervously chuckled, "So I guess it was a good thing you said 'no.'"_

_Ichigo stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. "I guess so."_

_Uryuu eyed him suspiciously but Ichigo only shrugged his shoulders, a silent message of 'I'll tell you later' being sent out to him._

_Orihime's laugh slowly ceased. "How was your vacation, Kurosaki-kun?"_

_Ichigo had to stop a smile from coming on his face. "It was good. I met up with my family and we went to the beach."_

"_It must have been fun!" she smiled, "Next time you should invite us too!"_

_Ichigo cringed. "Yeah, maybe."_

_An uncomfortable silence surrounded the three friends._

_Uryuu looked between Ichigo and Orihime several times. He let out a sigh. "Is there something you need, Inoue-san? Kurosaki and I were on our way to talk with the student council right now."_

"_Oh! I didn't know. I'll make this quick," she nodded at Uryuu before looking back up at Ichigo, who was trying to ignore her gaze. "Ano, Kurosaki-kun? Did you get my message last week?"_

_Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. Not only did he get it, he was forced to stop his heavy make out sessions with Rukia every time Orihime called. And it was almost every day! "Yeah, sorry for not calling back. I actually came back from my trip a bit late and I had a lot of stuff to do. I didn't check my messages until last night," he lied to her, feeling a bit bad for being so mean to his friend._

_But he had to draw a line somewhere._

_Orihime looked down. "Oh, I see. Um, well, can we—"_

"_Sorry Inoue-san, but can you discuss about this later?" Uryuu suddenly interrupted, "We really need to get going."_

_Orihime looked between her two friends before smiling. "Of course. Sorry for holding you two up. I'll talk to you later, Kurosaki-kun!" she said before turning around and heading to her office._

_Ichigo finally released the breath he didn't know he was holding._

"_If I didn't come in when I did you might have never gotten out of this situation," Uryuu said._

_Ichigo nodded. "Thanks man, I owe you one."_

"_Whatever," Uryuu shrugged before asking, "What was that all about anyways?"_

_Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as the two walked the opposite way of Orihime. "She's been coming over to my place a lot the last week of break. And she left about ten messages on my answering machine, blabbering about how she needed to talk to me."_

_Uryuu sighed. "Looks like she wants to confess again. What are you going to do about it? You can't push it off forever."_

"_I know," Ichigo groaned, "But I'd rather not deal with it at all. I thought she said she got over her crush on me."_

"_She did," Uryuu frowned, "She just fell in love with you instead."_

_Ichigo froze in his step as he stared at his friend. "You serious?"_

_Uryuu nodded. "She talked to me before break and told me how she was ready to become a serious person for you. I think she was trying to get you to go somewhere with her to try and confess…or tempt."_

_Ichigo groaned. "So that's why she asked me to go with her."_

"_Go where?" Uryuu asked._

_Ichigo frowned. "She called me the first week of break, asking if I wanted to join her for a trip to Okinawa. When I didn't say anything, she quickly added on that she was going to invite you and Chad. I guess when I said I couldn't go, she decided to cancel the trip altogether."_

_Uryuu nodded as they continued their walk. "So that's what you meant a little while ago."_

"_Yeah, and she's really starting to bother me," Ichigo groaned._

_Uryuu smirked. "I still don't know what she sees in you."_

"_Geez, thanks," Ichigo glared._

"_Whatever," Uryuu shrugged his shoulders, "Just remember that she is your friend first. When you turn her down, be nice."_

_Ichigo nodded. "I know."_

_Uryuu smirked. "And don't forget you still owe me. I've been eyeing the latest sewing machine that just came out. It's several hundred-thousand yens" _(A/N: around thousand dollars).

"_Fuck you," Ichigo glared at his so-called friend._

_End of Flashback_

Rukia chuckled. "Looks like you're really having a hard time getting through her."

"Tell me about it. Inoue is a good friend and I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with her because of her feelings. Hopefully I can figure something out quick," he said as he looked into her eyes. "But let's stop talking about her now. I want to focus only on you," he told her, causing her to blush as he tried to kiss her again.

_Ding Ding Ding!_

And of course all good things must come to an end.

Ichigo groaned as Rukia pulled away and jumped off his lap. "You leaving already? There are still few more minutes before class officially starts," he pouted.

Rukia laughed before quickly pecking his lips. "I know but I need this passing period to tell the class about the festival. I'll see you at home."

"Oh, about that," Ichigo stopped her before she reached the door, "There's a late staff meeting today so I'm going to be late."

Rukia nodded. "'kay. I'll just make dinner and leave it out for you."

Ichigo smirked. "You really getting into cooking now aren't you?"

Rukia smiled back. "Only because I don't want to do the dishes," she said before quickly leaving the room. Ichigo only stared at the door as it slammed shut.

"Fucking bitch," he cursed, but still keeping his smile.

Rukia ran to her classroom to see most of the students already there. "Okay guys! I have some announcements!" Everyone looked at her as she went to the front of the class. They stayed quiet as they waited for their class rep. to speak up. Rukia looked around the classroom until her eyes fell on a specific person. "Asano-kun, I would like it if you can help me."

"Why, of course Kuchiki-san!" Keigo practically flew towards Rukia with his eyes shaped into hearts. "What does my dainty flower need me to help her with?"

The dumbass was literally on his knees like a dog waiting for his owner to throw a stick.

Rukia smiled, though there was clearly a vein on her forehead. "I would like to announce to the class about the festival."

"Ah!" Keigo's eyes widened along with his smile as he jumped onto his feet and faced his fellow classmates. "MY DEAR THIRD-YEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS! THE TIME HAS COME TO FOR US TO SHOW OFF TO THE WORLD AS HEALTHY AND HOT YOUTHS!"

"What the fuck are you blabbering about now?" Renji glared.

Keigo chuckled as he placed a hand on his forehead and the other on his waist, taking a dramatic pose as he shook his head. "My dear Abarai-kun, just how dimwitted are you?" he chuckled, avoiding eye contact with the enraged red head who was being held back by his friends from bashing at the idiot's head. "Of course I'm talking about the school festival next month!"

"The festival?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yup," Keigo grinned, "It's finally our time to shine! And I already got the student council's permission for our theme!"

"Already?"

"Yup! I just wanted to do this before anyone else asked," Keigo replied.

Renji shrugged his shoulders to push his friends' grips off of him. "Okay then, what _are_ we doing?" he asked, keeping his anger at bay.

"Why, I'm glad you asked!" Keigo jumped on top of someone's desk and pulled out a rolled up poster. "Fellow classmates of Class 3-2! I unveil to you…" He undid the small string in the middle and let it unroll itself before the class, "—The Maid Café of Class 3-2!"

"YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

The two different reactions came from the class from the two gender groups in the classroom. Guys were all excited while the girls were shocked beyond belief.

"W-wait a second," Tatsuki stuttered, "The student council actually approved of this?"

Keigo nodded with a silly grin.

The tomboy looked at her petite friend with wide eyes. "Rukia! Do something!"

Rukia looked at her friend and sadly shook her head. "I tried but it was already decided. I was outnumbered at the meeting."

Matsumoto looked at the poster Keigo was holding up. On the poster were hand-drawn pictures of high school girls wearing _very _skimpy looking maid outfits. "We don't actually have to wear something like that, right?" she asked.

Keigo only replied with a wide grin.

"No fucking way!" Tatsuki screamed before landing a hard punch on Keigo, "We won't wear that!"

"Sorry but apparently Ishida-sensei and the handicraft club already made all the outfits," Rukia sighed, "Asano-kun was able to give them our measurements before break."

"How can you possibly know all of our measurements?" Matsumoto asked with a suspicious look.

Keigo was immediately back on his feet and grinned smugly. "Why do you think I hug all you ladies so much? I can easily tell one's figure by simply touching them!" he announced with his nose held high.

Tatsuki groaned in disgust. "That's not a gift you idiot; it's something only fucked up perverts can do."

"Yes, enough to get you arrested," Renji snarled.

Rukia bit her lower lip to stop herself from laughing. _Asano-kun sounds just like Kurosaki-san_, she thought to herself as she remembered how Isshin was able to get her the perfect yukata for the summer festival last month, _I wonder if they're related._

"Anyways, we need to get things ready for the festival. So please come and talk to me if you have any suggestion or questions," Rukia announced and got a collected 'hai' just in time before the bell rung and their next teacher entered the room.

---

Rukia stifled a yawn as she stretched on the couch. The sun was starting to set just beyond the window and she could feel exhaustion taking over. First day of school after summer and she was already tired, mostly because almost _everyone _wanted to talk to her about the festival.

Sometimes it didn't pay off to be the smartest in class.

She was suddenly pulled out of her daze when she heard the door opening. "Ichigo?" she called out.

"Yeah," he groaned as he came from the genkan and dragged his body to the couch.

Rukia looked at his exhausted form and raised a brow. "What's up your ass?" she asked.

Ichigo looked at her and glared. "How many times have I told you to work on your people skills? I'm still your teacher so act respectful or something. I know you're good at that."

Immediately Rukia put on her fake, sweet expression. "Kurosaki-sensei how was your day today? Would you like to have some dinner or just straight up put your hands up my skirt again?"

Ichigo looked at her with annoyance and let out a snort. "You're really something, you know that midget?"

Rukia smirked. "I know," she replied with her normal voice again.

With a long sigh Ichigo plopped down on the couch Rukia was sitting on, resting his head on her lap as he stretched his long limbs.

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Resting," he replied, "It was a _long_ staff meeting and Ishida wouldn't stop bothering me." He leaned his head closer to her abdomen, inhaling her lovely scent.

Rukia rolled her eyes as she rested her head back against the couch and looked up. Unconsciously one of her hands came up and started to play with Ichigo's hair. The owner of the orange hair let out a small chuckle before nestling closer to her. His hand slowly came up and softly stroked her lower back with his fingers.

Once again, everything was peaceful.

* * *

A/N: I think this is one of my shortest chapters (except the first chapter...I think). Just a little fluff here and there before the _storm_ arrives, which will be next chapter. I'm already writing it so it should be up by next week.

Oh! And those who noticed I haven't included lemons when this story is now rated M, don't worry. It will come but I just decided to push it back a few more chapters. Sorry to those who were waiting for it, but it will come.

Please continue to review! And again, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!! 3

Preview for next week:

Study group at Kurosaki-sensei's house... Need I say more?


	14. 14 The Study Group

**Author's Note: I actually finished this chapter a lot faster than I thought so I decided to upload it now instead of pushing it off. But this means I don't know when I'll upload the next chapter. Hopefully soon.**

**Thanks for all the reviews. If you look all the way down I wrote another "THANK YOU REVIEWERS" list so check it out and search for your names if you have reviewed before. It is REALLY LONG...**

**A lot of you guys thought this was going to be the 'storm' part but that's actually the next chapter. You can think of this chapter more like the thunder clouds rolling in and small drops of rain falling. It's not bad so please read and enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 14: The Study Group

* * *

The sun's rays slowly filled the room through the window, signaling the start of a new day.

Rukia's even breathing stopped and her nose crinkled for a second before she blinked her eyes several times. With a low groan, she rubbed her eyes before looking over at the clock.

7:00 am.

It was _way _too early to be up on a Sunday, but when Rukia wakes up then she's awake.

She lied down on her back and sighed in approval as she stretched her arms over her head, lightly colliding with the headboard above her form.

"Mmhm," someone groaned from beside her as his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Rukia couldn't stop the smile from forming. She lifted the upper part of her body, supported by her elbows, and leaned over to the sleeping man next to her. "Wake up Ichigo," she whispered against his ears.

Ichigo only replied with another groan as he shifted around.

"Ichigo," she whispered again, "Wake up."

The orange head released a sigh before reluctantly opening his eyes. He looked around before glaring at Rukia. "Shit, what time is it?" he asked.

Rukia smirked. "A little past seven."

Ichigo stared at her for a few seconds before sending her a deadly glare. "And why the hell did you wake me up this fucking early on a _Sunday_?" he growled.

Rukia laughed as she leaned over so she was lying on his chest. "Because I woke up."

"And what does that have to do with me?" he asked.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "When I wake up, I wake up and can't go back to sleep. But I'd be bored all alone so I decided to wake you up too."

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the woman on his chest. "You and your logic never cease to amaze me." He only got a wide smile in response. He pulled her up higher just enough to tuck her crown of her head under his chin so he could inhale her sweet smell. "Let's just sleep."

"No," she replied, although snuggling deep into his warmth, "I actually have to email my class about the festival."

Ichigo groaned at the mention of that cursed event. "I still can't believe Keigo is getting what he wanted.

Rukia snorted. "You should see him in class. He can't get rid of that perverted smile off his face even when Tatsuki or Renji beats him up."

Ichigo chuckled as he buried his nose deeper in her dark tresses. "Don't worry. I won't let that guy put his sleazy hands on you," he promised, causing a slight fluttering in Rukia's chest.

But before she could ask him about it, the orange head started to roam his lips all over her face. "I-Ichigo," she stuttered, "I-I thought y-you said you were tired, mmm."

"Well, like you, when I'm up, I'm up," he smirked as he rolled them over so he was hovering above her. He slowly took her lips and the two began the perfected dance of their lips that only they knew. He grabbed the nape of her neck as he tilted her head back to deepen it.

Rukia lightly gasped when she felt his tongue slip through her mouth. No matter how many times they kissed, sparks of electricity would always travel through her body like the very first time they kissed. And it seemed like it would never stop.

Ichigo smiled against her lips, loving the fact she was so responsive to him now. His fingers started to run up and down her arms, rewarding him with small whimpers from between her lips. He chuckled as his fingers, with a mind of their own, started to travel to her chest.

The moment she felt his hands seeking for her breast, Rukia moaned as she arched her back to meet his travelling hands. He gave a groan of approval as he palmed one of her breasts. "Rukia," he whispered as his lips travelled to her neck.

She could barely respond from the loving ministration he was giving her.

"Rukia," he kept whispering like a mantra.

This time she let her hands roam around his chiseled body, feeling the muscles she loved to touch. A low growl came from his throat as her nails started to press harder against his skin, almost breaking through. But that was exactly the way he liked it.

She was like a fucking cat who was not only hot but fierce, exactly what he wanted in his partner. His mind was taking a dangerous turn again.

Just as Rukia started tugging on his shirt, Ichigo suddenly pulled himself off of her and sat on the edge of the bed. "W-where are you going?" she asked.

Ichigo rolled his arms back a few times before standing up. "Nothing, I just didn't want to take it any further then that."

Rukia flushed as she looked down. "Oh."

He looked at her and smiled. "How about we go and grab something to eat outside?" he asked and Rukia nodded. He nodded back as he made his way to the door. "I'll wash up first." He swung open the door and walked out.

Rukia was still in bed as she watched him disappear. Once she heard the bathroom door being closed, she buried her head into Ichigo's pillow and took a deep breath of his deep scent.

She was still confused. Ichigo was acting really nice to her…well, when in bed, but he never really clarified what kind of relationship they were in now. Never have they confessed their feelings for one another, which was another problem. Rukia just didn't know what she was feeling for this orange-haired teacher of hers.

During the summer festival, she just kissed him to prove a point, but he later kissed her back. Since then they would have heavy make out sessions that even led to ripping clothes off each other. But they never went below the belt, literally. Ichigo would always pull back, using the excuse that she's not ready or he wanted to push it off. RUkia was starting to feel sexually frustrated.

And that was confusing her even more!

Why was she feeling this way for him anyways? They've been sleeping in the same bed since the last week of break, but never with clear indication of what was happening between them. She wanted to ask him but…she was afraid he would laugh it off and tell her there's absolutely nothing but the need to get rid of some sexual desires in him.

If that was true…if he really didn't feel anything for her, they why haven't they had sex yet? And would Rukia be okay with this?

_Ring ring ring!_

Rukia was suddenly pulled out of her frustrating thoughts when her cell phone started to ring on the nightstand next to the bed. She reached over and flipped it open. "Moshi-moshi?"

"_Rukia, you're actually up?_" Tatsuki's voice came from the other side.

"Yeah, why?" Rukia asked. "Is it impossible for me to actually me awake early in the morning?"

"_Yeah, especially on a Sunday," _Tatsuki laughed. "_Anyways, Rangiku and I have decided to gather the gang and go to our sensei's house for a study group. Wanna come?"_

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "Right now?"

"_No," _Tatsuki replied, "_In a few hours. I'm just leaving people messages to see if they want to come."_

Rukia thought for a few seconds before replying. "I'm not sure. Whose house are we going to?"

"_Ichigo's."_

"…" Rukia simply stayed still as her words slowly—_very _slowly_—_registered into her head. "What?!"

"_Yup. We're planning on going to Ichigo's place since I know where it is," _Tatsuki laughed.

"W-wait a sec," she stuttered, "Does Ic—Kurosaki-sensei even know about this?!" she asked, because hell, she didn't know about this at all!

"_Nope. Rangiku wants to surprise him_," she replied, earning her a groan from Rukia.

"Around when will we go there?" she asked.

There was no response for a second before Tatsuki came back. _"Probably around noon or so. I still need to give Abarai another few hours of sleep or else he's going to be crankier than a woman on her period."_

Rukia nodded even though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to see it on the other side of the phone. "Fine, I'll meet you there."

"_You'll meet us _there_? Do you even know where he lives?" _Tatsuki asked.

_Shit,_ Rukia mentally cursed at herself before replying. "Yeah, I saw his address in the information sheet I got a few days ago awhile we were discussing about the festival. I know the area around his place so I'll just meet you there since I might be late or something."

"_Oh, okay. See you later then!" _Tatsuki said before hanging up.

Rukia closed her phone, thankful that her friend played into her lie, before jumping out of the bed. "ICHIGO!" she screamed as she ran to the hallway and to the bathroom.

"_WHAT?!_" came the reply from the other side of the door.

"Big problem!" she said, "Tatsuki is going to come by here later around noon with the gang for a study session," she shouted and took a startled step back when the door suddenly swung open.

"WHAT?!" Ichigo shouted again, but this time right in front of her face.

Rukia nodded, totally ignoring the fact he was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. "Yeah, she just called me and apparently Rangiku is planning surprise visit here."

"Shit," Ichigo cursed as he came out and quickly went to his room to change. "Why are those dumbasses set on making my life so miserable?!"

Rukia stayed outside while Ichigo closed the door to change. "What should we do?" she asked.

"_Well first_—" he shouted back while shuffling of clothes was also heard through the door, "—_we should hide your possessions. Go grab your shoes and stuffed them in a bag_."

As soon as she got her orders, Rukia went to the genkan and started to grab all of her shoes off the shelves. Ichigo suddenly appeared next to her, holding open a garbage bag as she dropped her shoes into them.

"Maybe we should lock the door to my room," Rukia said, "We could just say you have a roommate."

Ichigo shook his head. "Tatsuki knows me too well to know I would never get a roommate unless it was Chad or Ishida. Other people gets on my nerves rather quickly," he told her as he tied the handles of the bag together, "I guess I could just say my sisters have been visiting me these past few weeks and have stuff in there. If Tatsuki ever calls to confirm it, Karin will make up some shit since my family partially knows about our situation." He quickly dropped the bag of shoes into Rukia's room and looked around. "But we should take down some obvious stuff just incase one of them gets in here."

"Yeah, Rangiku can get a bit nosey," Rukia said as she went over to take down the Chappy poster (which Ichigo was hoping it would stay down _forever_).

"Are you meeting up with them somewhere?" Ichigo asked as he went over to put away some of her personal pictures.

"No, I told Tatsuki I might be late. But I guess I can just say I finished whatever it was that I had to do and came early," she told him.

Ichigo didn't reply. He stopped when his hands landed on a picture of her with Renji, both when they were young. "Who else is coming?" he asked, his voice suddenly low.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders, not noticing his dangerous tone. "Tatsuki told me she was planning on bringing the gang, which would consist of her, Rangiku, Momo, Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichikia."

Ichigo groaned as he yanked the picture off her desk and shoved it inside another garbage bag along with her other pictures.

The two continued to work frantically, running around the entire apartment trying to get rid of anything that might give away any suspicion.

"What about this?"

"Put it in here!"

"But it won't fit!"

"Then shove it in!"

"How are we supposes to fit all these into the closet?"

"I don't know! Just push!"

_Ding Dong!_

Ichigo quickly opened the door and glared at the people in front of him. "You guys have a lot of guts coming here."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she tried to push past him. "Jeez, give it a rest already. And how did you know we were coming?"

"Yeah, I expected you to jump in surprise," Matsumoto pouted.

"Please, Kuchiki got here first," he told them as he stepped aside to show Rukia sitting nicely on the couch in the living room.

"Hi," she smiled sweetly at them.

"When did you get here? I thought you said you were going to be late," Tatsuki said as she kicked her shoes off and entered the apartment.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "I finished my chores a lot faster than I thought so I came here first."

"Well thanks for ruining the surprise," Matsumoto glared at her petite friend half-heartedly.

Rukia grinned. "You're welcome."

"Anyways, why are you guys here?" Ichigo groaned after everyone entered.

"We just wanted to study for your next test," Tatsuki said, "Most of us got low grades."

"I didn't!" Hinamori pouted.

"Sorry Momo but you still have to be here. I'm not letting Hitsugaya-sensei take you this Sunday," Matsumoto grinned.

Ichigo rolled his eyes but stiffened when a certain red head walked past him. The two silently glared at each other before they went to the opposite sides of the room. Ichigo stayed up, leaning against the wall, while Renji joined Rukia on the couch.

"So, what are you guys planning on doing?" Ichigo asked, "I didn't exactly plan any of this."

"Don't worry," Tatsuki waved her hand at him in nonchalant manner, "We only need you to clarify some of the readings."

"Then why the fuck did you have to come here for?!" Ichigo glared.

"Because I love to make you miserable," she laughed out loud.

Ichigo groaned. "Whatever, let's just get this over with. I have stuff to do." He said as he walked over to sit on the single-sitter adjacent to the couch.

The gang grabbed their bags and pulled out the materials for class.

Ichigo peered down at what they brought and raised a brow. "Oi, not all of those are my stuff. Don't tell me your planning on doing your math and science homework here too?"

"Why not? You're a teacher so you must know all these," Renji said.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yes I know some of these, but my specialty is in literature. My knowledge only goes so far in other subjects."

"Oh stop complaining and help us," Tatsuki snapped at him.

Ichigo groaned as he slumped in his seat. Knowing there was no way he could get out of it, Ichigo watched as they all settled by the coffee table. For the next few hours they continued doing the homework that they have obviously slacked off on, and discussing about the books he assigned in class. Ichigo was surprised to see a lot of them aware of what they were actually reading in class.

"I'm telling you he's suffering from some mental illness," Ikkaku said, "There's no other explanation for it."

"Please, that's stupid! He's a famous general so there's no way he'd be mental," Matsumoto swapped him over the head with her book. "He's just sad about what happened to his sons."

"Such tragic deaths," Yumichikia added, "I would have preferred a more beautiful one."

"I don't think so," Renji said at his friend, "I thought the death scene was kind of cool."

"No, it was f'd up," Tatsuki said, "You assigned us a weird play," she looked at her teacher.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "It's one of Shakespeare's most tragic stories (*A/N). Guys seem to like this story the best out of all his work."

"That I have to agree," Ikkaku nodded, "I actually read the entire play."

"That's a first," Renji smirked as the baldy glared at him.

Tatsuki scanned the book, scratching her head in irritation. "Still, why would Titus blab on and on about honor when he kills his own daughter?"

"Well why would he let her suffer a life like that?" Ichigo asked, "He considered it to be an honorable action as a father."

"I think he was just trying to prove a point," Hinamori added, "Like how he was willing to kill his own daughter if it meant he could save their honor."

"A-mo, this is getting complicated now," Matsumoto pouted.

"Why don't I remember reading that part?" Rukia said to no one in particular as she quickly went through the book again.

Ichigo sighed as he got up and made his way to the kitchen. "It's almost six. Do you guys want something to eat?"

"Can you order us some dinner?" Tatsuki asked, "Like pizza?"

"Sure, I'll buy," Ichigo called out from the kitchen as he called the pizza delivery. Within an hour he was back at the coffee table that was littered with pizza boxes and drinks. "Are any of you guys getting this?" he asked them.

"I do," Yumichikia said.

"I don't," Renji glared at his friend along with several others.

Ichigo sighed. "Well get it quickly. Don't forget you guys will be writing a report on this play in class this week."

"You're killing us with all this work!" Ikkaku shouted.

Ichigo scoffed. "That's my job as your teacher so deal with it!"

"Says who?" sparks of anger came out of Ikkaku's glare as it met with Ichigo's.

"Geez, you two need to calm down," Tatsuki pulled them away.

"Whatever," Renji got up and stretched his arms. "Where's the bathroom here?"

"First door down the hall to your left," Ichigo told him.

Renji nodded as he quickly left the study group.

"Here, help me with this instead," Ikkaku pulled out a different book and handed it to his teacher.

After reading the problem, Ichigo rolled his eyes and handed it back to his bald student. "I already taught you this an hour ago."

"I still don't get it," he replied.

"Me neither," Matsumoto agreed.

Ichigo sat up as he grabbed a pencil and a new piece of scratch paper. "Here, let's try another example. Here is a right triangle. If you know the angle for the right corner and this second corner, how do you find the third one?"

Hinamori immediately raised her hand as if she was in class.

The others quickly threw a glare at her. "You can't answer," Matsumoto snorted.

The young girl gasped. "What? Why not?"

"Because you get special lessons from Hitsugaya-sensei, who's our enemy at the moment," Ikkaku pointed out.

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" Hinamori pouted.

"But true," Rukia added as she grabbed the pencil from Ichigo's hold and started to figure out the question. "So, in this case you would use this equation," she said as she started to write something when—

"No! Rukia can't answer either!" Matsumoto shouted, "She's been really good with math lately so she'll only confuse us more!"

"That doesn't make sense," Rukia retorted.

"It does to us." Ikkaku quickly grabbed an eraser and erased her half-written equation.

Ichigo just gawked at him as if he was stupid…correction, he was stupid. "Oi, your friend was giving you guys the answer. What's wrong with that?"

"Since she already knows, we won't be able to learn if we just get the answer without solving it for ourselves," Yumichika replied, "In our group, if you know the answer, then you stay out for others to try and solve it themselves."

"Kinda like teaching your kids the difference between right and wrong the hard way," Ikkaku added as he tried to solve the question.

"This is stupid," Ichigo groaned, "Why do I have to teach other subjects too?"

"Because we don't get any of this stuff," Tatsuki groaned as strained her head to remember some of the stuff she learned from class.

Matsumoto looked up from her own problem and laughed when her eyes fell on the baldy who looked like he was constipating. "Oi, don't think too hard or your hair might grow out."

Ikkaku immediately looked up and glared. "You messing with me, bitch?"

"Who else could I be talking too?" she smirked.

Ikkaku stood up and placed a foot on the table as he rolled up his sleeves. "Come here and say it to my face bitch! I'll pop those boobs of yours that hold the extra air that your head can't keep."

Matsumoto immediately stood up and glared back. "Well I would talk to you but I just don't know which side is your face since they all look alike: wrinkly and ugly!"

"Enough!" Ichigo shouted as he pulled them back by their shirts, "If you two idiots want to fight then go outside and do it! Don't mess up my apartment!"

"HE/SHE STARTED IT!" They both yelled simultaneously.

Ichigo quickly smacked them over the head. "I don't give a damn. Just shut up or get out."

The two mumbled curses as they quickly sat back down, though they were still glaring at each other. Ichigo back on his seat and sighed. "When will this torture end?"

"Why are you so stressed? Isn't this fun?" Tatsuki asked.

"No," he groaned, "If feel like I'm getting older by the second. I want you guys to leave quickly."

"Why? A girl coming over or something?"

Ichigo looked up to see Renji, finally back from the bathroom, standing by the other end of the table with a slightly red hue on his cheeks, though from embarrassment or anger Ichigo wasn't sure. "What are you talking about, Abarai?"

"This," he coughed as he lifted up a lacy pink bra by its strap.

Everyone's eyes widened at the pink object and the color on Ichigo's face fell.

"W-where did you find _that_?" he stuttered.

"Behind the toilet," Renji said, "I dropped my phone and when I reached down to get it, I found this," he swung it in air, forcing eyes to widen even more. "Care to explain what, or whose, this is sensei?"

Rukia couldn't believe her eyes. Directly in front of her, her friend was waving _her_ pink bra that must have missed the laundry basket the previous day since it was obviously the one she wore yesterday! Sweat was forming by her brow and she was doing everything to try and stay calm…but it was impossible!

"Um, you know, you really shouldn't go through people's stuff." _Nice, _Ichigo thought to himself, _That was a really good explanation. _"Anyways, I really don't have to explain myself, an adult, to you guys, do I?"

They immediately looked at him with a stern look. "Of course you do!" they all shouted, minus Rukia.

Ichigo winced at the sudden shock wave of their yells. "Alright alright! Geez, there's no more privacy in this world," he sighed as he looked back at Renji. "That's my sister's so I would appreciate it if you stop swinging it around like that."

Renji immediately dropped the garment.

"Sister? Karin or Yuzu?" Tatsuki asked, "I don't think either one of them wear something that lacy."

"Time changes things I guess…I really don't want to know," Ichigo shook his head as he rubbed his face out of relief for his fast answer and irritation at the thought of his sisters wearing bras.

"Um, where should I put that then?" Renji pointed at the fallen garment, his cheeks now obviously red from embarrassment.

"Screw that! How old are your sisters?" Ikkaku asked.

"WHAT?" Ichigo raised a fist, ready to pound it into the bald head had it not been for Rukia to hold him back.

Ikkaku immediately started chuckling nervously. "My bad. I meant it as a joke."

"Well that was a stupid joke," Tatsuki told him.

"I think it would have been better if it belonged to a lover or something," Matsumoto laughed, "That would have brightened things up a little."

Ichigo groaned as he walked over and grabbed the bra off the ground. "I can't believe you found this," he groaned as he went down the hall to unlock the second room to throw the bra inside before returning to his seat. "Don't mention this to anyone."

"Hai!" They all saluted as they returned to their work.

Ichigo slightly gazed over at Rukia who was still a little red. She looked up and gave him the smallest nod that couldn't be detected by anyone else but him.

She was going to burn that bra later.

Another hour passed as the noise started to settle down and yawns echoed across the room. "I think it's about time we leave," Hinamori said, "It's almost eight."

"Damn, it's already this late?" Renji checked his watch before packing up his stuff. "I guess we should get going. We actually have school tomorrow."

Ichigo released a breath of relief as he started to clear the table of food and other garbage. "Please leave now and don't ever come over here again."

"Aw, don't you like us?" Matsumoto pouted.

Ichigo looked at her like she was crazy. "Please, I get enough of you guys during the week. I'm close to ripping your heads off for ruining my only break." He turned around to head to the kitchen, but not before giving Rukia a knowing look.

Rukia quickly looked away in case her face reddened. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed. She got up with her bag of books and joined her friends as they reached the front door.

"Okay, we're leaving Ichigo!" Tatsuki called out.

Ichigo came back from the kitchen and nodded. "Yeah, see you guys tomorrow."

"See ya sensei."

"Bye Kurosaki-sensei!"

One by one they all left, shoving their feet into their shoes and walking out. Rukia was the last in line and just as she was about to put her shoes on, she felt Ichigo come up behind her, his heat surrounding her in the comfort only he could provide.

"Be careful on your way home," Ichigo said, making sure the others didn't see him pressing onto Rukia from their point of view. He's been yearning for her touch for so long and for now this was the only way to satiate it until she could escape her friends and come back to him.

Rukia quickly left the apartment and joined her friends. "See you tomorrow, Kurosaki-sensei," she bowed before they all turned and made their way to the stairs. She didn't turn back when she heard Ichigo closing the door after they disappeared down the hall.

"Man, that sure was productive," Tatsuki smirked.

"Please, that was the most boring six hours of my life," Renji scoffed.

"You should be grateful to Kurosaki decided to help you when most teachers would have already given up on you," Ikkaku teased his friend, "especially after you touched his sister's bra."

Renji groaned. "Please don't bring that up."

"Well, I still didn't think I had to go," Hinamori pouted, "I already knew a lot of the stuff and the play wasn't hard either."

"Oh?" Matsumoto came up to her with a mischievous grin, "Did a certain _sensei_ read the play with you?"

A red blush immediately ran across Hinamori's face. "R-Rangiku-chan!"

Everyone laughed at the distressed girl as they made their way down the street.

"Ah!" Rukia suddenly shouted in realization, "I forgot my phone back at Kurosaki-sensei's apartment."

"You want me to go get it for you?" Renji immediately offered.

Rukia quickly shook her head. "No, that's okay. You guys go on ahead without me. Besides, I don't live that far from here so I'll just go get it myself." Without giving anyone a chance to stop her, Rukia started to run back to the apartment that they just left. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at school!" she waved back.

She ran as fast as she could so nobody could follow her as she went up the stairs. When she finally arrived at the door, she knocked on it.

"_Who is it?"_ Ichigo's voice came from the other side.

"Me," Rukia said and the door immediately opened.

Ichigo looked around. "Anyone with you?"

She shook her head. "I saw them leaving before coming up here," she said as she quickly pushed past him. Ichigo looked around one last time before closing the door. "Well that was fun," she said.

"Fun my ass," Ichigo glared as he went to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes. "They better not come back here again."

Rukia laughed as she joined him to help. "I still can't believe what happened with the bra."

Ichigo groaned at the memories. "We were lucky I thought of a good excuse in time."

"Which reminds me, does Karin or Yuzu wear that kind of bra?"

Another groan. "I don't want to know."

Rukia just laughed as washed off the soap. "Thanks for covering for me."

Ichigo smiled as he bent down to lightly peck her lips. "Anytime. Now, how about we go to bed? Those bastards wasted all my energy."

Rukia smirked at him. "Exhausted? Too bad because I was planning on having some fun."

Just as she was about to turn around and leave Ichigo grabbed her arm and brought her back to him. "What were you planning?" he asked lowly.

Rukia tip-toed to whisper into his ears, "I thought I'd give you a massage _everywhere _for what you did today. Help get you relaxed before school tomorrow."

"I like the sound of that."

Without giving her a chance to take it back, Ichigo tossed Rukia's petite body over his shoulder and quickly made his way to his bedroom, turning off the lights as their laughter filled the apartment.

But outside…

Renji watched as the two shadows inside walked away from the window. Suddenly the lights turned off in the apartment and it became dark.

Kuchiki Rukia never came out.

His hands balled into tight fists, and after trying to hold in his anger, Renji smashed one of his fists to the brick wall, releasing all of his pent up emotion in that one hit. Small bits of the cement chipped off and blood ran down the damaged wall. His knuckles were most likely broken but the enraged red head was too pissed to feel anything else. He cursed before turning around and walking away.

* * *

A/N: Yes, the actual STORM is next chapter!!! *gasp* sorry if this wasn't as big as some of you guys wanted it to be, but the ending was the most important part.

I wanted it to seem like Ichigo and Rukia made it out of danger alive but in reality their last minute of relief was caught and is now going to be used against them. Confusing? Yes. But exciting? Hell yes.

What's going to happen? What will Renji do to jeopardize Ichigo's and Rukia's newly found relationship?

Please review!

Preview for next chapter:

A rumor is going around school about Ichigo living with…another teacher? WTF?

*Here I was referring to one of Shakespeare's tragic play, _Titus Andronicus, _one of my personal favorites (although there are some f'ed up moments).

Anyways, here's the 'THANK YOU' list starting from Chapter 7 up until the previous one. If I forgot you or misspelled your name, please let me know and I'll fix it by the next chapter.

**Blatantly Anonymous (I think you review every chapter! I love you!)  
**Jimbobob5536  
**Swisz Phantom  
**Raine 20oo (I had a really tough time figuring out if I like HitsuHina or HitsuKarin but I noticed I like the former better. Sorry, but thanks for sticking with me!)  
**snowywhite  
**J'aime Manga  
**Yuyukawai  
**AvaLuna  
**LittleRu  
**LaVenDaRxXxHiMaWaRi  
**Rukia-Chappi-Chan  
**Mikazuki Mitsukai (you also print my work? O.o THANK YOU!)  
**LoveIchigo  
**HarunoRin  
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**karkashan  
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**Insistence  
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**phoenixfire3473  
**Odium of my Requiem  
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**kuchiki18  
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Ispano-guymelef  
**outlaw hunter  
**Assault Godzilla  
**Happygirl24  
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**I'mtheBrideofBYAKUYA (Did I ever tell you how much I love your name? :D)  
**Ojou-sama  
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**Dancing Water (thanks for reviewing so often!)  
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**I-Like-WAFFLES (me too!)  
**Chaos Blademaster (You're right. Isshin—and Rukia—are the bane of Ichigo's existence)  
**Demon hidden in the light  
**mipku  
**KuroiTsuki7 (that Chappy was really cute! And I'm glad you liked the kiss!)  
**BleachFan4ever  
**daley101  
**XdearestX  
**DemonBrownie  
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**Vanster X  
**asian book worm (I am one too)  
**megui-chan  
**kimono2007 (I agree. Isshin is definitely as IchiRuki supporter)  
**marimbagirl1993  
**Chappirio  
**JainaZekk621  
**Iblowuptheworld  
**rock 'n roll sweetheart (About the Byakuya question…wait and see *wink*)  
**r00k82  
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**Nekura Enzeru  
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**Ichi-Ruki4eva  
**-deviLish-baBy-  
**myowndestruction  
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**-lazy llama- (I too would love to have Ichigo as my teacher)  
**HitokiriHERO  
**Serena Lockhart  
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**Sato Miki  
**aaa222xx  
**Rukia001 (glad to know this made your weekend)  
**Hippie420 (yes, Isshin just isn't Isshin if he isn't crazy)  
**ashido fan (no way! I have to go read that Honey Dish Rhapsody!)  
**RyaNa cHan  
**PoeticDayDreams  
**Psychegloom  
**spidergoth  
**SiriusAllPunked  
**xXYaya-YuikiXx  
**boynxtdoor15  
**Mio-tan  
**Vampy-Bitch  
**x71x  
**drosophilla melanogaster (thanks for reading my story even though you don't like the affair thing. I'm not supporting this either but I just thought it would be a good plotline)  
**ThierryMyst  
**KoeZ**  
LA DIABLESA**  
Anna Haruno (That was probably the longest review I have ever gotten. Thanks for spending so much time writing it. You had a lot of questions which I won't answer since it would give away the plot but things will get spicier soon!)  
**animeGirl2709

Phew, that was LONG! I never noticed how much love I was getting until now. Sure I noticed the HUGE number of reviews, but I didn't think I would get so many new readers than the last time I did this. Again, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!

Oh! And don't forget to review for this chapter too! :P


	15. 15 The Storm

**Author's Note: HERE COMES THE STORM!!!!**

**But before going into that, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the reviews!!! I can't believe that in merely two chapters I have received a hundred reviews so now I'm up to 400!!!!!! Is this real or a dream. I can't believe how much love you guys are giving me. It's so inspiring.**

**Anyways, here's the STORM chapter I promised. There's a little angst in the middle and our characters find themselves in an unexpected situation. Read and enjoy!!**

**Again, sorry for any mistakes.  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 15: The Storm

* * *

"We're going to be late!"

"No we're not!" Rukia shouted back as she came out of the kitchen with a bento box. "There's still a good forty minutes left before the bell rings and it doesn't take us longer than twenty minutes to walk there. Here," she shoved the box to him.

"Thanks," Ichigo replied as he grabbed his lunch, while putting on his shoes. "Don't forget to bring that report you have to turn in to Ishida. It is almost 30% of your overall grade."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Hurry up and just go," she lightly pushed his shoulders.

Ichigo turned back and leaned over to brush his lips against hers. "I'll see you in a bit," he grinned.

Rukia smiled back. "Okay," she replied, smacking his head to get him out of the apartment as soon as possible. When he finally closed the door, Rukia took off her apron and tossed it on top of the kitchen counter. She huffed, looking around the apartment. "Looks like I have some cleaning to do when I get home tonight," she groaned. Checking the clock one last time, she quickly ran to her room to change into her uniform and grab her bag.

And as she said to Ichigo, forty minutes was still enough time to get to school and not be late.

"Ohayo Kuchiki-san!" several students greeted her as she walked into the school building.

She immediately brought out her fake act and smiled back. "Ohayo," she greeted back like any other day.

But today was _far_ from normal.

Rukia tried to pretend like nothing different was going on but she couldn't help hearing the whispering and the gossiping that was circulating amongst the students.

"Did you hear? Kurosaki-sensei is apparently having an affair with a student!"

Rukia literally stopped in mid-step when those words entered her ears. She turned around to see two girls whispering to each other (although they weren't being very quiet since she could still hear them).

"A student? But I heard it was with another teacher!" the other girl replied to her friend.

Suddenly, a male student came up to add his two-cents. "No, I heard he's doing it with Ishida-sensei."

"EEHH?"

Rukia rolled her eyes as she continued her way back to her classroom. It was just another stupid rumor. She slid open the door and walked in. "Ohayo," she greeted her friends.

"KUCHIKI-SAAAAANNNN!" Keigo screamed with joy as danced around Rukia. "You look beautiful as always!"

Rukia gave him the usual 'innocent' giggle. "You flatter me too much, Asano-kun." She sat down on her seat where her group of friends have gathered. "Hey guys."

"Rukia, have you heard?" Matsumoto leaned forward, her breasts threatening to spill out even more, "Apparently Kurosaki-sensei is married!"

Rukia suddenly started coughing from her own saliva that got caught in her throat.

Tatsuki sat up and shook her head. "No, Ichigo isn't married; I would have known if he was." But then she leaned forward and whispered, "But I did hear he is living with a girl."

Almost everyone around them gasped.

"I can't believe Ichigo got laid before me!" Keigo whined.

"He's older than us so it's not that shocking," Mizuiro commented before he added, "Besides its obvious _everyone_ is going to get laid before you, Asano-kun."

"WHYYY????!!!!!" He screamed out the window.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes, getting back to the topic at hand. "I still can't believe Ichigo has a sex-life though."

Rukia looked up and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He _never_ seemed interested in girls before," she said, "I wonder if he changed while in college."

"Well I'm not surprised if he has a sex-life since he is pretty hot," Matsumoto smirked, "Not to mention he has a sexy tushie that no girl could resist."

Rukia had to stop herself from imagining Ichigo's butt.

"I don't think we should be discussing about this," Hinamori whispered, "He might be coming in any minute."

"Oh don't be shy, Momo," Matsumoto grinned, "It's not like we're talking about _your_ Hitsugaya-sensei."

Hinamori blushed. "Stop teasing, Rangiku-chan!"

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?"

Rukia and her friends turned around to see Renji walking towards them with Ikkaku and Yumichika on either side of him. "Ohayo, Renji! I haven't seen you all week," Rukia greeted with a smile, "It's already Friday."

But Renji responded with a silent glare before looking at the other girls. "What the fuck is so interesting that you guys are giggling like idiots this early in the morning."

"Jeez Abarai, what's up your ass so early in the morning?" Tatsuki glared, "You haven't come to class for several days. The least you could do is say 'hi'."

Renji just grunted at her as he pushed his way to his seat.

Rukia turned around and asked, "You okay?"

Again, he didn't respond. He just leaned back on his seat and stared out the window. "Hopefully it will be soon," he whispered to no one.

At that moment the bell rung and Ichigo came in, shouting, "Quiet down and get back to your seats!"

Rukia sat up straight and looked straight at Ichigo who was starting attendance as usual. She wondered if he had heard of the rumors yet…

"Ichigo, are the rumors true?"

Well, looks like she'll get her answer sooner than expected.

Ichigo looked up to glare at Keigo. "What rumor are you talking about?"

"Well, duh!" Keigo ran over and threw an arm around his old babysitter, "I heard you're living with a girl!"

Ichigo stared at him with wide eyes. "W-what?! Where the fuck did you hear that?!"

"Apparently there's a rumor going around that you're sleeping with someone, like with another teacher or something," Tatsuki commented, her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at him, "Mind giving us an explanation?"

Ichigo made sure his eyes didn't move over to Rukia, who was trying to cover her blush by pretending to read her book.

Of course Renji was watching both of their reaction with a watchful eye. They were being _way_ too obvious. If anyone noticed their stiff bodies, they could have automatically guessed it might have something to do with the rumor. He scowl deepened the more the thought about that night.

"Where is this coming from? Who started that fucked up rumor?" Ichigo asked, forgetting about the rule of 'no cursing' from teachers at the school.

"Aw, don't act shy Ichigo," Keigo grinned before a dreaded look overshadowed his face and he ran towards an open window to scream, "WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before pointing at the teenager who was starting to cry out the window. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's just sexually deprived," Mizuiro smiled.

Ichigo shook his head. "Anyways, I don't know where that stupid rumor started, but it's not true."

"So you're not in a relationship?" Tatsuki asked.

Again, Ichigo shook his head. "I haven't been in one in a long time. Now, let's get back to work."

Renji, who was leaning on his desk, noticed how stiff Rukia's shoulders became when the orange head teacher commented about not being in a relationship. He couldn't stop a low growl from escaping his throat.

"Abarai, why don't you give us your thoughts on the last chapter first," Ichigo called over. But he was taken aback when the red head student gave him an icy glare.

Not giving a damn what would happen to him, Renji stood up, hands in his pocket, bag still slung over his shoulder, and stomped his way to the door.

As Renji passed by him, Ichigo quickly grabbed his shoulder and stopped him in his track. "Where do you think you're going, Abarai?" Ichigo glared. Renji tried shaking the teacher's hold off of him but it didn't work; Ichigo just held on tighter. "I asked where you're going in the middle of class." Venom was literally pouring out from Ichigo's mouth.

Renji's hand immediately came up and grabbed Ichigo's wrist in a death grip. He yanked it off his shoulder and glared back, barring his teeth like a crazed dog. "Don't fucking touch me you bastard."

Everyone gasped.

Did Renji have a death wish or something?! Because he just signed up for one with his own hands!

Ichigo's eyebrows were close to touching as his entire body tensed. "Watch your mouth, Abarai, I'm your teacher. Now go back to your seat before I decide to report you to the principle."

"Do it if you want, fucker," Renji sneered, "I don't give a fuck what you do. Expel me if you want." He quickly tossed Ichigo's arm to the side and continued his way out the door.

Everyone, except Ichigo, cringed when they heard the deafening sound of their classroom door being slammed shut, the noise echoing through the empty hallway, as the red head disappeared.

Ichigo kept his eyes on the door for several seconds before closing his eyes and facing back to the classroom.

Rukia could see how bothered he was. His hands were rolled up into fists and his breathing was labored. She could tell that it took all he had to stop himself from punching Renji in the face just a moment ago.

Trying his best to control his breathing, Ichigo looked back to the rest of the class and cleared his throat. "Hinamori, you start," he called out with a husky voice.

Hinamori and the rest of the class were still staring with gaping mouths at the door, none paying attention to their teacher who was trying to restart class.

"Hinamori," he called out again.

"H-hai!" she jumped up and stood up from her seat. "Ano, I thought the last chapter was t-tragic because Titus—" (*A/N)

Barely anyone paid attention to what Hinamori was saying. Heck, the girl didn't even know half of the stuff she was saying either. They were all in too much of a daze as what just happened to care about grades right now.

Why did Renji suddenly leave like that? Why was he so angry? Because of Ichigo? Did it involve the rumor? …Or something else?

---

Ichigo sighed as he entered his private office.

It was passing period, which meant he had a little over ten minutes to straighten out his thoughts before going to his next class.

He walked over to his desk and dropped into his chair in exhaustion.

Renji's behavior this morning was totally uncalled for. Heck, Ichigo didn't even know why that bastard was so fucking pissed. He knew that kid didn't like him much, but to leave class like that after cursing at him like some gangster, seemed a bit extreme.

Ichigo shook his head. "I shouldn't let it bother me," he murmured to himself before reaching for his bento box. Lunch had already passed but he so busy with planning his materials that he never got the chance to eat. He was hoping to eat something now. As he opened the lid of his bento, all negative thoughts that had been plaguing his mind that day disappeared when he peered at his lunch. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

On top of the rice, Rukia had arranged the green beans into one of her horrific Chappy drawing with the words 'ganbatte' written below it. Still, it was kind of cute.

"Stupid midget," Ichigo snickered.

Just then, the door to his office swung open with so much intensity that Ichigo was barely able to close his lunch on time. He turned around and glared. "What the fuck, Ishida?! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Uryuu walked in and crossed his arms. "Etiquettes aren't important right now. But what is, is the rumor that's going around school."

Ichigo stared at his friend, confused. "What rumor?"

Uryuu sighed. "About you living without someone."

"Not that again," Ichigo scoffed, as he leaned back against his chair and rubbed his temples. "I already heard enough of that from my students and I don't need anymore shit from you."

"Sorry but you're getting one," Uryuu pushed up his glasses, "Especially since it involves a student."

Ichigo fell off his chair. "W-WHAT?!"

Uryuu raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you've been hearing this all day?"

Ichigo stood up and steadied himself against his desk. "Yeah, but my students said it was just some random girl or a fellow teacher from this school, but never a student."

"Well, rumors can go out of hand," he said, thinking back to the stupid rumor of him being gay, which was TOTALLY untrue.

Ichigo looked away, trying to control the sweat rolling down his forehead. He sat back into his chair and tried to act nonchalant. "So, um, if that's what you want to talk about then, ahem, you have nothing to worry about. I'm not involved with _anyone_."

Uryuu looked at his friend, eyeing him from head to toe. "You're lying."

Ichigo almost fell again. "W-what? Why the hell would you say that?"

"Because one, you stuttering; and two, you're sweating bullets."

_Shit_, Ichigo cursed in his head. "I'm just constipated, that's all."

Uryuu frowned. "Anyways, whether that's true or not, be careful. This school doesn't give a single chance to anyone if these scandalous rumors turned out to be true. Toshiro is the only exception, but if you started a relationship _while _teaching a student, then you're in trouble."

"Don't worry," Ichigo gulped, "I'm not involved with a student, let alone with another teacher or some other random girl."

Uryuu nodded. "And it better stay that way, or else." Having said what he wanted to say, Uryuu was about to make his way out the door when his friend stopped him.

"Wait, Ishida," Ichigo called out, "Just out of curiosity, what might happen if, hypothetically, a student and a teacher _did_ get themselves involved in a relationship?"

Uryuu slowly turned around with a scrutinizing look. He took in a deep breath, signaling the start of the long 'I-know-more-than-you' lectures Uryuu gave to almost everyone. "Why are you asking such an obvious question? The teacher would definitely get fired and the student expelled. Worse, the teacher could get arrested for having a relationship with a minor and the student could be sent to juvenile court if she was the one who instigated the relationship. Not to mention this could disgrace her family and she can never escape the image of having been 'touched' by a teacher. It would make her seem easy, in turn making her an easy target for other perverts out there. Furthermore, she won't be able to get into other schools, so would end up with no education passed high school. She'd end up working at a burger house or, if her parents kick her out for such a disgrace, could work in the streets."

Ichigo gulped. Not merely because of the massive information he got in less than thirty seconds, but because it sounded like Uryuu knew something, and was thus warning him with everything he said. "I-I see. Thanks for telling me," Ichigo nodded, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

Uryuu stood there, eyeing the orange head with a look that was sending out a message he could only hope was reaching Ichigo . _You better remember this, Kurosaki, or else you'll end up ruining her._ "Is that all you wanted to know?"

Ichigo nodded, rubbing his face with one hand. "Yeah, thanks for the info."

Uryuu shrugged. "Well, it was a _hypothetical_ question after all."

Ichigo stiffened at the tone of Uryuu's voice. He didn't even look up as he left his office, closing the door behind him to leave Ichigo alone again in his room.

He stood there for awhile, chanting in his head everything Uryuu just told him.

_The student expelled._

_Juvenile court._

_Disgrace._

'_Touched.'_

_Easy target._

_No education._

_Burger house…_

…_Streets._

Ichigo slumped over in his chair, cradling his head with hands propped up by the elbow on top of his desk. He stiffened when one of his arms touched the bento box next to him. He carefully opened his eyes and stared at the object that, only a few minutes ago, was the object of his momentary happiness.

After staring at his untouched lunch for a few more seconds, he pulled out his cell phone. He immediately texted Rukia "_Meet me in my office, now,_" before flipping his phone shut.

He stayed very still, eyes closed as he strained his ears to hear the familiar light footsteps that belonged to a certain midget. In a few minutes, the door opened and closed after someone came in.

"You called me, Ichigo? Passing period is almost over."

The said man stiffened upon hearing his name escaping her lips with such sweetness. He groaned as he thought about everything that's been happening that day.

Rukia walked over to his side, and peered at his face from the side. "What's bothering you?" she asked with her cute pout, "Is it about Renji? Or the rumor?"

Upon hearing 'rumor' from her, Ichigo quickly stood up and took in a deep breath.

He had to do this.

There was a reason why Uryuu warned him, and Ichigo never doubted his friend for a single second since they met.

He knew…Uryuu knew everything and was giving him a chance to _end_ everything before it became too dangerous.

"Rukia…"

"Yeah?" she looked up at him.

"This can't work…"

Rukia frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Ichigo sighed. "We should stop all this."

"Ichigo," she lifted a brow at him, "You're not making any sense."

But he kept his eyes away from her, knowing full well how her violet eyes have the ability to make him fall to her will, whatever it may be. "Leave," he simply said.

Rukia stared at him before scoffing. "What? Why should I? You're the one who called me here—"

"I meant leave my apartment," he interrupted, his cold gaze looking straight into her violet eyes that widened at his words. "I want you gone by the time I get home. I'm sure Yoruichi will take you in so go there."

"What?" Rukia asked but he only turned around, slamming his hands on top of his desk. She was in a daze for a few seconds before mustering enough strength to step closer to him. She placed a shaking hand on his arm. "W-What are you talking about? I…Is something wrong?"

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut as his hands clenched into fists. "Don't question me. Just leave."

"Ichigo—"

"Stop stalling and go!" he yelled, squeezing his eyes tightly that veins were popping out from the sides.

Rukia was slightly taken aback by his sudden outburst. She couldn't understand what was happening. Weren't things getting better between them? Sure they never really said anything about their overall relationship, but from the way things were going, shouldn't it be obvious? Her grip tightened. "Ichigo, I don't understand—" Rukia's words got cut off when Ichigo violently yanked his arm out of her grip.

Ichigo turned around with his tense back to her. "I can't take this anymore…I'm tired of what's happening between us. Besides," he paused before speaking again with more venom in his voice then when he had talked to Renji. "It's not like there anything going on between us."

Rukia felt her heart shriveling up into a tight ball.

"Just leave…_Kuchiki_," he growled, his hands rolling up to tight fists next to his sides.

Rukia didn't know why. Why was her vision suddenly blurry? What were these wet things falling from her eyes? She couldn't understand what was happening around her and why her throat clenched shut. So she did the only thing she could think of. Without another word Rukia turned and ran out of his office.

Once he heard the door shut closed, Ichigo gritted his teeth as he slammed his two fists on top of his table again, directing all his anger at the innocent desk. As the desk shook, he heard something falling over and dropping on the floor with a _plunck _anda _kla__nk._He looked over to see the lunch Rukia had made for him that morning, all over the floor. The good food and the sweet—but ugly—drawing of Chappy now completely ruined. "…Fuck," he groaned.

Rukia didn't even give her friends a second glance when she reached her classroom. With a tear-stained face she ran inside and grabbed her school bag. Her friends were shocked to see her so stressed out but as they were asking her what was wrong she stormed out the classroom, forgetting there was still a few hours left of school.

The past month was flashing through her mind as she ran out into the streets. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she bumped against poles and total strangers, but she never stopped running.

"Hey! Watch where you're going bitch!"

"Miss you okay?"

"You knocked over my sculpture!"

People shouted after her but she kept running. She ran until her lungs started to constrict. She ran until her legs started to wobble. She ran until her uniform started to get damp with her sweat She ran until she was sure she was far away from school…and Ichigo.

She ran towards the apartment that was several blocks away from school. She ran up the stairs and yanked open the door to _their_ place. Huffs of breath came from her mouth as she stepped in and looked around the apartment. She dropped her bag and her knees started to shake. Unconsciously she fell several steps back outside before her knees gave out completely under her. She crumbled to the ground outside the apartment and freely cried out all the tears that were piling out.

The first time they met.

The time when she moved into his apartment.

The vacation to the beach where she met his sweet family.

Their first kiss.

All the sweet talks he whispered into her ear.

The sweet ministrations.

Everything was playing in her head like a sad movie that she didn't want to see. Why was he suddenly telling her to leave after everything that happened between them?

_He was using me,_ she thought to herself, _He never cared about me! He never even said we were in a relationship in the first place!_ She screamed to stop the truth that was talking in her head.

Without realizing it, Rukia started to sob out loud, not able to move from her position right outside the door of the apartment. The sun was setting behind her and the wind was picking up.

It looked about ready to rain.

For how long she was there, Rukia didn't know. Her loud sobs have finally toned down to small whimpers but the tears refused to dry up. By now she was sitting with her back to the wall, knees bent up and her chin resting on top of it. Her swollen eyes eyed the open door, afraid of stepping inside in case her emotions got the best of her again. The apartment was filled with Ichigo's scent and if she took a huge whiff of it she might go crazy.

"_Just leave…Kuchiki."_

The way he ordered her to leave and the tone he used when he had said her surname. Those three words repeated over and over again in her ears. And the image of his eyes piercing into her soul, stabbing her breaking heart was making things worse.

Her heart…her poor bleeding heart.

"When did this happen?" she asked herself out loud, "When did I fall for that idiot?"

And now, all because of a stupid rumor he was ruining everything.

Taking one deep breath Rukia pushed herself up on her wobbling legs as she looked inside the apartment again. It was now dark, and she could see almost nothing beyond the genkan, which was a good thing. If she saw anything more, she might break down again.

"I'll leave," she said into the wind, hoping it would carry the message to Ichigo, "I'll leave before the rumor consumes you and your stupid image."

Without another thought, she gently closed the door while taking one last look inside the dark apartment before it got closed off. Rukia stood with her loose grip on the door knob. She bit her lower lip to stifle her cries as she forced her weak legs down away from the door and down the stairs.

She didn't know where to go especially since everything was still at the apartment. Maybe she could go to her friends' house…but that would mean she'd have to confess everything since they're the type to question her until they got answers.

But then where else could she go?

Rukia's legs reached the end of the stairs and stopped as she faced the streets. Looking up she could see the rain clouds covering the moon. With a sigh she aimlessly started to wander with no clear destination. She left the vicinity of _his_ apartment and made her way down the dark streets, the light from the moon covered by the thick clouds.

She never noticed the shadow looming behind her.

---

Ichigo clenched his shaking fists as he made his way down the street as the rain started to pour down. He was getting soaked through his clothes but that wasn't what was really bothering him. It was already late in the evening and Rukia must be out of the house by now. He stayed behind at school for several more hours, hoping it was enough time for her to gather up whatever she needed and leave. But that didn't do anything to calm down his nerves.

Every muscle in his body was yelling at him to go after her and beg on his knees to stay with him. That he really didn't want her to leave and he needed her to be with him. That the stupid rumor and Uryuu's lecture got the best of him.

His heart was the loudest of them all.

But Ichigo would never do that. He couldn't, not after the pain he caused her. The shocked look she gave him was enough to make him want to hang himself. But he had to do it. If he was the only one who would get punished for whatever relationship they had, then he'd take it on. But that wasn't what would happen.

Just like Uryuu said, Rukia would most likely suffer more. There was no way he was going to let that happen to her.

Ichigo ran a nervous hand through his messy wet hair as he turned the corner.

_If only we met later,_ he thought, _just one year later and we wouldn't have to worry about this._

He looked down at the ground and scowled. "I'm such a fucking coward," he cursed at himself.

Suddenly a rustling noise caught his attention, freezing him in his step as he peered over to a group of trees.

Silence.

_I swore I just heard something_… he stood still, straining his ears to pick up any noise but there was nothing but the pitter-patter of the rain.

He shook his head. "I must be going crazy," he sighed as he started to walk again.

"AAHH!"

Ichigo turned around, eyes wide at the sound of a scream. He knew he wasn't hallucinating and started to run towards where the scream came from. It came from between a small grouping of trees near his apartment. The rustling of leaves became louder and he soon stopped in his step at the scene before him.

He felt full anger boiling through his blood.

Rukia was walking aimlessly, her mind way too fucked up to realize anything in her surrounding. She doubted anyone would see her in this quiet neighborhood especially since it was starting to rain really hard. She was getting soaked since she brought nothing with her, but she didn't care. However, she was startled when she suddenly heard the tapping of footsteps behind her.

"Well what do we have here? A lost kitty?"

Rukia stiffened as she forced her jelly-legs to keep walking. But the voice only became louder as the footsteps neared her.

"Ah, don't leave. I just wanted to have a small chat with 'ya," the man said, his words a bit sluggish. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we talk for a bit?"

"No," Rukia spat out as she knocked his hand off of her and started to walk faster. But the fucking bastard wasn't giving up. He grabbed her elbow and yanked her to a halt. "Ah!" she yelped in pain.

The man lowered his red face down to her level as he snarled. "Lookie here girl, when I want to talk, I want to _talk_."

Rukia stared in horror as his breath fanned over her face, a clear stench of alcohol coming from him. "Let go," she struggled to release his hold but he just held on tighter. _Fuck, why did this have to happen now!_

The man chuckled thinking her struggles were cute. "Aw, is the cute kitty scared? Don't worry, this won't take long," he smirked when he suddenly pulled her behind the trees.

Rukia started to freak out. "STO—" her scream was blocked when his large hand clasped over her mouth.

He leaned forward and hissed against her ear. "I'd shut up if I were you," he threatened as he twisted her arm earning him a muffled scream of pain from her. He continued pulling her deeper into the trees.

Even with the threat, Rukia tried to pull away as she stationed her feet to the ground, hoping the friction would stop him. But the man merely cursed as he used more of his strength to pull her with him. He was amazing strong for someone who was drunk and half out of his mind. Knowing there was no other way, Rukia opened her mouth and quickly bit down on his dirty hands.

"AH!" he screamed, releasing his grip on her.

Taking the chance that was finally before her, Rukia turned around to run away but her legs were still weak from the incident that afternoon that they gave up before she could make it too far.

"Come back here you bitch!" he yelled as he caught up to her and pushed her to the ground.

"_You might not be scared of me, but someone could attack you like this someday. Prepare yourself__.__"_

Rukia's eyes widened when those words suddenly came to her thoughts as the man clamped his hand down on her mouth again and used his other hand to rip open her school blouse.

"_I'm walking you home. It's not safe for you to walk home this late at night."_

"_You should still be careful. I heard way too many stories of young girls getting attacked even though their karate-masters."_

Rukia couldn't believe this was happening. Ichigo's warnings kept playing in her head. Back then she told him he was being stupid, that she was in no danger. But look at her now. She continued to struggle as he ripped off her red bow but she wasn't strong enough to fight against a big man who was drunk. Her chest was now bare, except for her bra, before him.

Where's Ichigo when you need him?!

"Goddamit stay still!" he slapped her across the face.

But the moment Rukia's head was shoved to the side, his hand on her mouth loosened, giving her the chance to scream. "AAHH!" was all she could let out before it was shoved down her throat.

"Screaming won't help you," he smirked as he started to grind himself against her, "Nobody's going to hear you. It's raining too hard."

Rukia felt hot tears forming at the corner of her eyes as she clawed at the hand that was against her mouth. Her eyes widened and she tried to scream when she felt his other hands grabbing her breast with too much force.

With Ichigo it never felt disgusting and painful as it did now. With him it was always sweet and full of tender care. But the drunken man was just squeezing too hard.

"Hmph, I'd prefer bigger ones but I guess you're not that bad," he said before giving a long lick from her collarbone to her ear. He suddenly shoved his tongue into her ear and started to wiggle it around.

Rukia gasped and felt her stomach churning in disgust. She trashed her head from side to side but he just kept following her!

"I'm not letting you go so might as well try and enjoy it," he whispered as he lowered his face to give long licks and nips downwards towards her breasts. Tears fell as he forcefully pried her legs apart with his own legs. He quickly settled between her knees and started to hump her through their clothes. "How you liking this?" he smirked.

Rukia clenched her eyes and bit down on his hand one more time with all her might.

"Fucking bitch!" he yelped in pain before smacking her harder against the head. "I'll teach you to bite—" his words got cut off when something pulled him back by the shoulder. He never got the chance to say anything when in less than a millisecond a hard fist came straight at his face, knocking him off to the side.

Rukia looked up to see her attacker on the ground with a bloody nose and an angry Ichigo standing between them with his chest heaving up and down.

"Ah, my nose," he groaned before glaring at Ichigo. "Fucking bastard, get your own whore—"

"You picked the wrong person to mess with!" Ichigo yelled as he grabbed the fallen man by the collar and pulled him up. He glared down at him with the most murderous looking eyes. "I'm going to fucking kill you!" he said before sending wild punches at the drunk.

Sitting up, Rukia watched in horror as she clenched onto her wet and ripped blouse to hide her chests as Ichigo kept punching the man into unconsciousness. Blood was mixing with the rain as it fell to the ground. But whose blood it was she wasn't sure.

But one thing was certain, Ichigo had a murderous look in his eyes and at the rate he was going he was really going to kill that man! Even though the bastard deserved to be killed, seeing blood in Ichigo's hands was wrong. She had to stop him!

"I-Ichigo," her voice cracked.

Ichigo's fist stilled in midair when he heard his name being whispered through the rain. He turned around to see a shaking Rukia looking at him with wide, scared eyes. He blinked several times before looking down to see the man's bleeding and bruised up face. Ichigo released his hold on his collar and the man fell onto the ground completely unconscious.

With his labor breath, Ichigo turned around and walked over to the woman on the ground. "Rukia," he called out and extended a hand towards her. But he was shocked when she flinched at his near proximity. He bit his lip and cursed under his breath.

Rukia looked away, not sure what to do in this situation. True he just saved her…but none of this would have happened if he hadn't yelled at her to leave!

"Rukia," he tried again, "You okay?"

Rukia felt her lower lip trembling. She looked at him with tears streaming down her face. "Do I look okay to you?!"

Ichigo cringed at the sound of her voice. It was breaking his heart.

"F-first you tell me to leave, then I got attacked by a drunk who tried to rape me! How could I possibly be okay?!" she screamed at him, her feelings for him mixing with her hatred for him. "I hate you!"

_Fuck Ishida,_ Ichigo thought to himself before he reached over and pulled her shaking body against his. "I know," he whispered.

New tears escaped Rukia's eyes as she shook against him. "I hate you," she cried, "I hate you."

"I know," he said again as his grip tightened. "I know…I'm sorry."

Hearing his sudden apology, Rukia's hands came up around his neck and she clutched onto him for dear life as she sobbed out loud. Feeling the rain soaking through the remainder of her clothes, Ichigo held her tighter to warm her up.

But that was when he saw it.

He abruptly pulled her away from him only to see disgusting marks extending from her creamy neck and down to her chest. His jaws clenched tight as he felt anger bubbling in him again.

"Ichigo?" she whimpered, missing his warmth against her bare chest.

The orange head growled in anger as he picked up her fragile body and ran towards _their _apartment. Rukia held onto him, not questioning where he was going and what he was going to do. She knew what it was that suddenly made his eyes murderous again. She could feel the marks burning against her skin and she wanted nothing but to claw them off. As he ran up the stairs Rukia started to shake uncontrollably. Her hold on him tightened as she tried to get rid of the sensation of another man's tongue on her body.

Ichigo yanked open the front door and ran straight to the bathroom. Before Rukia could even protest he went into the tub and turned on the shower head, warm water soaking both occupants as it rained down on them. The moment Ichigo's grip on her slackened, Rukia started to tremble uncontrollably as she started to scratch her neck as if it had been attacked by mosquitoes. Seeing Rukia trying to claw out her own skin Ichigo held up both of her hands above her with one of his hands while parting her shit open with the other.

"Ichi—" the last syllable of his name went unheard when Ichigo mashed his mouth against Rukia's, hard. Her eyes widened with surprise before she shut them tightly, accepting his method of erasing the unwanted touches on her body with his. He forced his way into her mouth and started to travel around the carven of her mouth with his tongue.

Without warning, Ichigo's unoccupied hand came up and palmed one of her breasts firmly. Rukia gasped against his mouth, her legs tightening themselves around his waist. In instinct, Ichigo grounded himself against her, sending the two into a choir of moans as he continued replacing the bastard's touches with his own. Rukia finally yanked her hands out of his grip and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him closer as if it was possible.

The images of Rukia getting attacked by that fucker kept playing in his head, causing Ichigo to become even more aggressive. He moved his free hand under her knee and started to rub the skin under it. Rukia threw her head back to gasp, Ichigo's lips following.

The hand on her breast was kneading it through the fabric, his fingers trying their best to tweak her nipples even harder than they already were. And his other hand was slowly moving up and down her leg, every time reaching even higher until his fingers brushed against her panties. Rukia moaned when she felt him fingering the lace on her panties before slowly—so fucking slowly—slipped them under the damn fabric.

"I-Ichigo!" Rukia yelped, breaking away from his possessive lips.

But the man immediately went for her neck as he kept grounding against her. Now that her mouth was unoccupied, Rukia couldn't stop the whimpering noises from escaping her throat as he humped her through their wet clothes. He was grounding against her so hard that she felt her back sliding up and down the tiled walls.

"AH!" She could not longer hold off her screams when she felt one of his callous fingers slide between her wet folds. "Ichigo!" she screamed, clutching onto his back, nails digging through his wet shirt. Just hearing her scream his name was enough for him to reach over and rub her sensitive nub hard.

Ichigo pulled away from her creamy neck, which was now bruised and red, and quickly took her lips back to his mouth, shoving his tongue deep enough to steal her voice into his own throat.

The two continued kissing, touching, rubbing, moaning, and gasping each other's name as the water from the shower head continued coming down on them, sprinkling them with waters to erase the unwanted and replacing it with they're own imprints.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but in reality a few minutes, the movements of their lips slowed and Ichigo's hands stilled. Only when their shaking stopped did he lean back a little, allowing them some air to breath.

Ichigo looked down only to see teary violet orbs looking up at him. Not liking the pain behind those beautiful eyes, he pulled her against him, hugging her against his damp body.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "Rukia, I'm so sorry." He pulled her tighter into his embrace which she returned. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again. I'm never leaving you alone again," he promised.

Upon those words tears started to pool out of her eyes again. Rukia sobbed as she clutched onto him as if for dear life.

Never again, was she going to let him leave her alone again.

Never again.

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A/N: Okay, so this was originally going to be two chapters but I just wanted the sad part to end really quickly so it ended up being one chapter. Thus there are some awkward sentences and the problem got too quickly resolved. But I think it came out well.

I know some of you guys don't want Renji to be bad, but it's only for a moment (just like Orihime's stalker-ish behavior). Think of it as something necessary to bring our young lovers closer together. Oh! And I was shocked to see some people guessing what I was planning on writing later on in the story. Freaky.... If you can't guess what might happen, read some of your fellow reviewer's hypothesis and guess which one is true!

And I had a hard time writing the part with Ichigo being the bad guy. I know some of you guys might think he was too easily influenced by Uryuu, but what would you do when you hear your lover might be ruined if your relationship continues? Fight back? Maybe, but I just needed more drama for the upcoming chapters. Hehehehe, I so can't wait for the next chapter...

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!!!

*Here I'm referring to one of Shakespeare's tragic play, _Titus Andronicus, _one of my personal favorites (although there are some f'ed up moments).

BIG HUGE GIGANTIC preview of next chapter:

...Lemon…Need I say more?


	16. 16 Closure

**Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews!!!!!! I can't believe how much love I'm getting. It really brings tears to my eyes *sniff sniff***

**Anyways, here's the LEMON I promised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, I'm not happy with this chapter. To be honest, I got a cold (NOT the Swine Flu) and midterms this week all at once! Talk about bad luck. So I'm not satisfied with what I wrote. I tried to get my friend to help me but she's not good when it comes to writing (especially smutty stuff) so it was really difficult to convey all my thoughts here. If anyone knows my style, then you should know not to read every word too seriously. Instead, think lightly so your mind can help create images and put in extra stuff that you think should go in it. This is my little secret method when it comes to reading long and unwell written stuff.**

**Some people asked me how long this story is going to be... I think I might write ten or more chapters. Hope that sounds good. Also, I know a lot of you guys are asking me to reveal what might happen, especially with Renji, Byakuya and Orihime, but sadly I can't say anything yet. Everything will be revealed in good time to stay patient. So read and enjoy!!!!!!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

_**WARNING**: LEMON up ahead to be careful!_

* * *

Chapter 16: Closure

* * *

Rukia groaned as she tried to open her eyes. The sun was shining through the window, almost blinding her before she could adjust to the light and fully open her eyes.

Ichigo.

That was the first thing that crossed her mind when she was able to focus on her surrounding. The orange head was lightly snoring away next to her, his arms still tightly wound around her body. That was when Rukia remembered what happened the previous day.

Ichigo had been ignoring her because of the rumor going around school. After acting cold to her, he snapped, telling her to leave him. It left her emotionally vulnerable that she couldn't fend herself when a drunken man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked her. However, Ichigo arrived just in time, knocking the bastard out, and brought her back home to wash away the unwanted touches on her body and replacing them with his gentle caresses in the shower.

Rukia lightly traced her lips with her fingers.

The kiss was the most intense kiss she had ever experienced not to mention all the ministration that came with it… though all of her experiences were only from Ichigo. So many emotions were passed between them through it and it felt like her heart was slowly being pieced back together.

Of course that was where it ended. She sobbed until her body stopped shaking. And as their fingers started to prune, Ichigo pulled them out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. They changed out of their wet clothes and ended up collapsing on the bed together, completely exhausted from school and all its drama.

That was it.

Nothing else happened except Ichigo holding her tightly as they slept. Rukia lightly pouted. She was disappointed, not just at Ichigo, but at herself. She should have stayed awake and finish whatever they were doing in the shower. Heck, now that she thought about it, Ichigo always stopped before anything really started because of her.

Rukia was pulled out of her thoughts when Ichigo let out a small groan as he pulled her into him even more. She couldn't stop the blush that was slowly making its way up her face, and spreading throughout her body when he rubbed his face against her neck.

_Goddamit_, she thought to herself as she bit her lower lip to stop a moan from coming out, _this is killing me. Should I wake him up_? She looked down, carefully pulling away to get a better look. Her tensed shoulders suddenly relaxed as she looked down onto Ichigo's peaceful face, absolutely no sign of his scowl on his face. Without realizing what she was doing, Rukia lifted one of her hands and brushed away some of his fiery bangs.

Ichigo's relaxed face scrunched before slowly blinking his eyes open. He looked up and smiled as his eyes focused on the smiling face of the woman in his arms.

"Ohayo," she whispered.

Ichigo smirked before gently grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her down for a kiss. Rukia immediately closed her eyes as their lips met. She held back a moan as Ichigo slowly moved his lips against her like a beautiful, quiet dance. He slowly pulled back and whispered, "Ohayo," back to her, their lips still touching as he spoke.

Rukia grinned before pressing her lips fully onto his again.

Liking how responsive she was, Ichigo flipped over their position so he was hovering over her entire body, their lips never breaking away from each other.

He didn't have to ask for her to let him in; without a moment's hesitation Rukia opened her mouth and took in Ichigo's tongue to play with hers. They nipped at each others lips and allowed their emotions to fall into the moment.

Ichigo ran his hand up and down her arm, getting a sweet whimper from the back of her throat. He reached down and intertwined their fingers as he left her lips and placed butterfly kisses down to her jaw and to her neck.

"Ichigo," Rukia breathed out, her unoccupied hand grabbing onto his back.

The orange head responded with a small grunt as he bit on her pulse point, causing her to arch her back against him. His other hand slowly went to the back of her neck and pulled it upwards, bringing her closer to him as he went back to kissing her lips.

The two stayed locked against each other for several more minutes before Ichigo slowly pulled away. He opened his hazy eyes and looked down to peer at her face.

Kuchiki Rukia was beautiful.

Her flushed face was only an inch below his with her swollen red lips and lust-filled violet eyes looking back up at him through half-lidded eyes. Everything about her was screaming beautiful.

And she was all his.

"Rukia," he exhaled, his warm breath fanning over her face, "Don't leave me," he whispered.

Rukia's lips tugged upwards into a small smile. "As long as you don't try to kick me out again," she teased.

Ichigo shook his head as he placed his forehead against hers. "Sorry about that. I was getting worried about someone finding out about us and just snapped."

"What did they say to make you so angry?" she asked as her hand on his back came up to play with the hair on the nape of his neck.

Ichigo sighed as he buried his head between the junction of her neck and shoulder. "The rumors about me could get to the principle's ears. And if they find out about you, not only will I be in trouble but so will you. The possibilities of what might happen to you were too great for me to try and risk it."

Rukia felt touched, slightly, that he tried to get rid of her from his life to protect her, but she was still displeased at how he acted upon it. "Still, you didn't have to act like _that_. This was the first time I felt scared of you."

Ichigo stiffened. "Sorry," he whispered.

Rukia shook her head, knowing he could feel it even though he wasn't looking at her. "It was a misunderstanding. I appreciate you trying to protect me, but…" She brought up her hands and gently lifted Ichigo's face up to look directly into his eyes. She smiled sweetly at him, "Whatever may happen, let's face it together. No more trying to push the other away or saying things that aren't from the heart. Even though we have our differences, we still make a great team together."

Ichigo looked down at her and smiled. "You don't have to worry about that; I'm never letting you out of my sight again." He came down and immediately claimed her lips before giving her a chance to respond.

There were just so many things he wanted to say; so many things that needs to be conveyed but he just didn't know how to do it. So he hoped his kiss was enough to show it to her.

And Rukia got the message.

She felt tears forming behind her eyes and she couldn't stop them as they made their escape even through her closed eyes.

Ichigo stiffened when he felt something wet against him. He slowly detached himself away from her and saw the small tears sliding down. His face frowned in worry as he wiped them away with his thumbs. "Sorry," he whispered again.

Rukia opened her eyes and looked at him. "I don't want to hear you saying that word again. If you're truly sorry then don't say it."

Ichigo nodded. "Sorry."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "I thought I just told you to stop saying that. Did you really forget it that quickly?"

"Sor—"

Rukia quickly stopped him by pulling his head down for a searing kiss.

At first Ichigo was in a bit of daze but he soon became possessive again as he quickly deepened the kiss. And this time, the previously slow and tingling kisses became a full-on lustful kiss. Rukia fought back with the same about of force as her hands slide down his chest, feeling his toned muscles under his shirt.

The orange head groaned before he detached himself from her for a brief second to pull off his shirt before going back down to take her lips. Rukia felt small sparks as her hands became even more persistent on his body. No matter how many times she touched him it always made her spine tingle. She moaned when she suddenly felt Ichigo's hand cupping her breast against her shirt.

"Ichigo," she whimpered.

And that was all she had to say to make Ichigo yank her shirt off of her and pull down her skirt in a blink of an eye. This time when he went down, Ichigo went to the front of her throat and licked it as he felt a groan coming from within it.

His fingers started brushing against her skins causing goosebumps to rise. "Rukia," he growled into her neck, "In a few seconds I won't be able to stop," he paused to nip on her neck before continuing, "So stop me now."

This was the moment Rukia was suppose to push him away but instead she held onto him tighter, even spreading her legs apart to accommodate him in between them. He stopped his lips and lifted his head to look down at her.

Rukia was looking at him with her face all flushed and her breathing labored. "Don't you dare stop."

Ichigo stared into her eyes to see nothing but complete seriousness. That was all he needed to know to pull down his pants. Rukia's hands went to her back to unclasp the bra which she tossed to the side as Ichigo tossed his pants next to her clothes.

As Ichigo slowly leaned down to kiss her again, his hand cautiously came up and palmed the breasts that fit perfectly in his hand. Rukia moaned at the sensation, arching her back to present more of herself to him. In the next second, he was down to suck on the hard nipple of the neglected breast, earning him a surprised gasp from her. He licked, nipped, and sucked from one breast to the other, slowly driving Rukia into insanity as his other hand came down and fingered the lace of her underwear before slowly pulling it off, as if unveiling a fragile present.

Rukia bit her lower lip as she felt the cool air hitting her warm skin as her wet panties were being peeled off of her, exposing the most sensitive part of her body to him. Once it was completely off, Ichigo pushed himself up on his knees and looked down to see everything that was being offered to him.

It was his most precious possession that he wasn't going to let anyone else see or have.

Lust filled Ichigo's eyes completely as all of Rukia was bare in front of him. He allowed his eyes to travel from the tip of her toes and to the ends of her hair until their hungry eyes met.

"Take it off," she growled. Ichigo held back a snicker as he quickly pulled off his boxers. And there it stood, in all his _tall_ glory, the hard erection that Rukia had only been able to touch but never really see.

She gulped when she saw the beast that was fully awake now. She looked up in concern but the orange head smiled as if reading her thoughts. He leaned over her body completely and pulled her lips into his mouth for another kiss.

"Don't worry," he whispered as he placed butterfly kisses all over her lips, "I'll make you feel as beautiful as you are."

Rukia couldn't stop her screams when Ichigo suddenly parted her wet folds and slide a finger in between them. The feeling of him penetrating her most sacred region was heating up her body to uncontrollable degrees. Ichigo grunted the moment he felt her tight walls surrounding his finger, and his mind couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to have something other than a finger inside her.

Knowing just how new she was to this, he kept his hand steady—which was very difficult for him—until soft mews came from under him. He leaned back up to kiss her fully on the lips before slowly moving his finger within her. She whimpered at the feeling, and it just made Ichigo twitch for more of her. His finger scraped at her walls and he immediately felt harder.

Her gasps of surprise to moans of pleasure were making him lose his mind. If he wasn't careful he might drive himself in her too forcefully and hurt her before either of them could reach the peak of pleasure. That would be the big turn off for him. So he was slow with his actions, bringing her close to her peak and suddenly slowing down the pace to control himself.

"I-Ichi—go," she moaned.

"Rukia," he replied, his warm breath huffing against her swollen lips. His wrist was starting to move a lot faster, the wetness of her womanhood making it easier to slip his finger in and out of her. At any moment he was about to lose his mind—

Ah, fuck it! He lost his sanity the moment she told him not to stop!

Ichigo pulled away from her gasping mouth and dived for the luscious wetness that was driving him mad.

"ICHIGO!" she screamed the moment she felt his tongue rubbing against the nub of nerves. Her hands came out and grabbed onto his hair as he penetrated her with his tongue and started to drink up her essence. Never had she felt something so powerful, hot and down-right pleasurable in her life.

Feeling the fire growing, Ichigo's mouth became more persistent until he felt her clamping down into his mouth and coming straight into him with a scream. He felt her body shiver from the sudden orgasm as he tried his best to drink in all of her. Gasps for breath came above him as he stayed between her slender legs. The moment her trembling folds were licked up dry, he sat back up on his knees as he parted her legs even further. The throbbing from his erection was becoming unbearable and he wanted to relieve it.

And Rukia was the only one who could do it.

With great tenderness, his hands came up to run down her body as if petting a fragile creature. Rukia opened her eyes—when had she closed them?—to see Ichigo leaning down at her.

"You ready?" he asked in between deep breaths.

Rukia stared into his eyes and nodded as she positioned herself just above his groins. Their labored breaths mingled in the air as they pressed their naked body against each other even closer. Rukia gasped when she felt his erection rubbing against the inside of her thighs, right below the core of her womanhood that was suddenly getting wet again.

Ichigo looked down at her one more time for a confirmation before they did something totally selfish and only for them. Her eyes were sparkling right back at him. That was all he needed to know.

The head of his erection slowly pushed into the tight ring of her folds. It was difficult at first with her petite body and all. Rukia could feel tears forming behind her eyes but she wasn't going to let them out, at least not yet. She didn't want Ichigo to see them and suddenly bail out. She needed him so much that she was willing to deal with whatever pain it would bring, whether from losing her virginity or getting in trouble from school. None of that mattered anymore.

Only him.

Only them.

That was the only thing in her mind right now.

Ichigo grunted as he finally slipped in the tip of his cock inside of her. He bit his lower lip to hold onto whatever control he had before his hips could start thrusting wildly into her. There was no way he would allow himself to ruin this moment by losing to his animalistic desires. That can wait until later. He pushed forward his lower body as much as possible until his cock reached the barrier of her purity. Rukia took in a deep breath to prepare herself and that was when Ichigo thrust deeper, breaking through the barrier as quickly as he could as he filled her completely.

A scream of pain was about to escape Rukia's lips but Ichigo immediately silenced it by swallowing her pains into his mouth as he kissed her fully. The lower part of his body remained still as he concentrated on working on her lips, distracting Rukia from the pain that was throbbing within her. Unwanted tears continued to fall but after a while Rukia ignored it as she slowly started to respond to his caresses.

When she felt the pain subside, she started to move under him. "Ichigo," she whimpered.

"Sorry," he whispered as he trailed kisses across her face, "Just be patient for a little longer."

The corner of her lips started to tug upwards as she felt his sweet kisses on her neck while his hands were running up and down her sides in soothing movements. Noticing her relaxed expression, Ichigo decided it was time to test if she was ready.

With great care, Ichigo pulled his hips back, slowly pulling himself out of her. Rukia whimpered at the weird but welcoming sensation. A gasp of surprise came from her this time when he suddenly drove himself back in her. Ichigo grunted at the feeling of her tight walls that surrounded his hard member. And it was driving him insane the way Rukia was moaning underneath him.

The moment of his slow thrusts brought nothing but pleasurable feelings throughout her body that Rukia couldn't resist herself to move her hips up to meet him in mid-thrust. The two gasped in unison at the sudden sensation as their movements started to syncopate and quicken.

"Ichigo," she whimpered as she desperately clawed his back. Those cat-like fingers were sending more shocks throughout his body and his hips began to thrust more wildly into her, making Rukia lose the rhythm. At first she flinched when the faster movement started to hurt again, but Ichigo quickly slowed down to wait for her to slowly get accustomed to the new friction. Ichigo had to hold onto her hips as he moved in and out of her as their climax neared them. His balls were feeling tighter and her walls were clenching his member even tighter.

"Rukia," he groaned, "I—can't hold—ugh—back, so don't you either!"

As if it was a signal, an orgasmic scream ripped out of her throat as Rukia's body shook violently from the waves of pleasure, coming down hard on Ichigo. A choked groan came from Ichigo as he kept thrusting a few more times into her tighter walls before he delved deeper inside her and exploded everything he had within him into her.

The two stayed still as their orgasm played throughout their body. Once the ride was finally over, Ichigo dropped onto his elbows as his strength left him but he tried his best to stay up from crushing his lover underneath him.

Rukia took in deep breaths before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's okay, I'll hold you," she whispered as she pulled him in. Ichigo's arms immediately gave out as he fell against her warm and sweaty body. He buried his head next to her neck and the two tried to catch their breathing.

It was only after several minutes that Ichigo was finally able to gather some strength to slip himself out of her spent canal. Rukia felt him lift her exhausted body as he fell to his side and brought her onto his chest. She curled against his body and held onto him tightly, ignoring the throbbing that was coming between her legs.

Exhaustion was washing over them, totally ignoring the time of day. Pulling up the blanket to cover their bodies, Ichigo held onto Rukia tightly and sighed into her hair. A smile broke out of Rukia as she listened to the mad throbbing beats of his heart.

"Rukia," he whispered.

"Hmm?" She didn't trust her voice to answer back. It seemed like she had lost it the moment she screamed when she had come.

"Rukia," he said again, "don't leave me," he begged as he held her close.

Rukia responded with a tired nod before sleep took over them both

---

Rukia's nose clenched up as sleep slowly started to leave her. She didn't want to wake up just yet, especially since she was feeling so warm and content. But her eyelids were complaining at her to move, too tired of having stayed in one position for several hours. With much difficulty Rukia finally blinked open her violet orbs, only to be welcomed with a blurry vision of '5:00 PM' in red letters that was glaring at her. She let out a groan.

_Since when did I ever sleep until this late?_

She flinched when she suddenly felt someone moving behind her. His arms around her bare waist tightened as he pulled her closer to him. His chest was pressed against her back and his nose dug itself into her hair.

Rukia couldn't stop a small giggle as she turned her head to see a sleeping Ichigo, his scowl gone and replaced with a peaceful expression that only appeared while he was asleep.

Images of what happened earlier that day flashed in her mind and a bright blush appeared along with it. She looked down at his hand and gently intertwined their fingers. Unconsciously he gripped her fingers tightly, almost as if he was afraid she'd disappear even as he slept.

Rukia smiled affectionately before she turned around to gently shake his shoulders. "Ichigo," she whispered.

The scowl suddenly returned as he was slowly forced out of his dream.

"Ichigo," she said again, but a little louder this time. "Wake up."

The orange head grunted as he blinked open an eye to glare at her. "What do you want?" he groaned with his husky voice.

Rukia smiled. "We've been asleep for almost seven hours. If we continue sleeping we won't be able to sleep tonight and wake up in time tomorrow morning."

Ichigo let out a deep breath as he held her tighter. "Still, you didn't have to wake me up. I can sleep in as long as necessary," he exclaimed.

Rukia laughed as she slowly sat up. "Well I'm hungry so let's get something to eat."

Ichigo sighed in defeat. "Fine." He sat up before looking to see her bare back facing him, her front being covered by the blanket she was tightly clutching onto. He saw a blush on her cute face when she noticed where he was trying to stare at. He chuckled as he leaned down next to her ear. "No need to be shy, midget. I already _saw _everything so there's no need to hide from me anymore."

The blush grew brighter as she glared at him. "You're making it sound like you want me to walk around the apartment naked from now on."

"That's not a bad idea," he chuckled as he kissed her shoulder.

"Ichigo," she whimpered as his breath tickled her neck. "Not now."

But Ichigo continued to kiss her down her back, feeling the goosebumps that were arising on her skin again. He smirked when he heard a moan from the woman in front of him, feeling himself getting slightly aroused…when something struck him. He pulled away and scowled. "Shit," he cursed.

"What?" Rukia asked, her voice slightly breathless.

However Ichigo was no longer aroused at the moment. "Um, we—last night…shit!" he kept cursing.

"What?!" she asked, more persistent this time.

"…We forgot protection," he finally said.

Silence.

Then Rukia suddenly burst out laughing as she fell back onto the bed.

Ichigo glared at her merry expression. "What's so funny? Are you telling me you actually want to get pregnant before graduating?"

"No," she giggled, "I just think it's funny how you suddenly remembered this _after_ we had…um, well you know," she bit her lower lip as she grinned.

"But this is a serious matter," he frowned at her, "I don't want you to quit school just because you get pregnant."

"I don't either," she smiled, "So don't worry."

"Why?"

Rukia reached up and brushed some of his bangs out of his eyes. "Because I'm on the pill."

A sigh of relief came from him. "Thank god. I was freaking out for a sec—" Ichigo stopped mid-sentence and his eyes grew big again as he gawked down at her. "Why are you on birth control?"

Rukia smirked at his suspicious look. "Because I've been sleeping around with every guy in my school."

"WHAT?!" Ichigo erupted, glaring down at her. And his anger didn't die when Rukia started to laugh out loud again. "RUKIA!"

"You're so stupid," she continued laughing.

"This is not a simple matter! Who did you sleep with?! I'm going to—" Ichigo was abruptly stopped when Rukia placed a finger against his lips.

Her face was still red from laughing so hard, but calmly replied, "Ichigo, from what happened just a few hours ago, shouldn't you be able to tell a joke from the truth?"

Ichigo scowled at her. "What are you talking about?"

Rolling her eyes, Rukia sat up and seductively whispered against his ear, "Don't you remember how _it_ went?"

Ichigo stilled in his position as his mind suddenly went back to what she was referring to. And he suddenly remembered the resistance, the breaking, and the scream. He leaned back to stare at the face that was still smirking at him. "…Oh," he replied.

"You're my only one," she calmly informed him.

Ichigo lowered his face to hide his embarrassment. "Thanks for freaking me out there, midget."

"You're welcome," she grinned.

Ichigo groaned as he wrapped his arms around her and fell back on the bed together. She squealed at his sudden action and he rolled over to hold her tightly against him. "But that still doesn't explain why you're on the pills."

Rukia giggled in his arms. "Ever since our make out sessions started to get intense, I decided to make a smart move by taking them. I knew this would happen sooner or later."

A sigh of relief escaped Ichigo as he started to kiss her again. "You still could have warned me earlier." Rukia just smiled as he continued to kiss her neck. And his arousal was back.

Men are such simple creatures.

Rukia felt Ichigo's lips becoming more insistent and rolled her eyes. She knew what was going through his mind. "Ichigo, you really should stop."

But he continued his trail of kisses down to her shoulder before he pulled away an inch to look at her. "Do you really have to eat now?" he asked, thinking back to what they were originally talking about before the topic of the pill came up.

Rukia glared at him. "Yes," she stressed the word.

Ichigo sighed as he pulled himself away completely. "Fine. I'll go make something so why don't you go take a bath."

Rukia nodded her head as she watched Ichigo grab his boxers on the ground. He then proceeded to put on a pair of shorts before he left the room. Once she saw the kitchen lights turn on from the hall, Rukia carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed, wincing as her feet landed on the cold floor.

With much difficulty she pulled herself up, still clutching onto the blanket. As she pulled away, the blanket uncovered the red stain on the bed, close to where she was lying just a few minutes ago. Rukia stared at the stain for several minutes.

The loss of her innocence was clearly visible before her and it was something she would never get back. But strangely, she didn't feel guilty about it. Instead…it felt right.

A small smile tugged on her lips before she carefully went to grab a pair of new clothes and went to the bathroom for a much needed bath.

Ichigo let out a big yawn as he continued to cook the eggs in the frying pan. Now that he thought about it, he was hungry as hell too. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before. After that he couldn't eat because of all the fucked up drama that _he_ started with Rukia. Luckily everything ended with a happy ending.

A small frown appeared on his face as he thought back to what happened the night before. That fucking drunk bastard better not remember anything about what happened or else he'd go and finish what he started. Ichigo still couldn't believe something like that happened to Rukia. That bastard got what he deserved for touching _his_ woman and putting that frightened look on her face.

His mind immediately focused on Rukia for a second. She was now the girl-who-turned-into-a-woman this morning when he took the one thing he's been trying to avoid all this time: her purity. Still, she willing offered it to him and he took it. After all, he was a healthy young man with raging hormones that he's been neglecting his entire life. It was bound to have happened between them, especially with the kind of activities that they did at night but still…

"It would have been better if it were under different circumstances," he mumbled to himself as he dumped the eggs onto a plate.

"If what was what?" Ichigo tuned around to see Rukia appearing into the kitchen while clutching a towel around her wet hair. She looked at him with her confused eyes and asked again. "Under what circumstances?"

He stared at her before shaking his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it," he said before grabbing the plate of eggs and placing it on the table where he had already set up the utensils, rice and some other leftover side dishes. He sat down in his usual seat and Rukia sat across from him. When her bottom connected to the seat, she couldn't help but wince a bit.

Her lower body was still extremely sore, even after a warm bath. The never-before-used muscles were throbbing as she tried to gently wiggle into a more comfortable position. Ichigo eyed her movements, figuring out why she was moving around so much in her seat. But instead of commenting, he looked down on his own plate of food and started to eat. He felt a bit guilty but knew she would get mad at him if he voiced his thoughts, so he kept quiet.

"Ittadekimasu," she said before digging into the food that her stomach's been growling for over an hour.

The two ate their first meal of the day while talking about this and that: from annoying homework to crazy Isshin. Laughs and threats were shoved in between every few minutes during the rest of their meal as they enjoyed each others presence.

"Ichigo, can you come here and help me!" Rukia called from _their _bedroom—she suddenly decided to officially move all her stuff into his room for the past hour since there was no reason to use separate beds now…unless Ichigo does something stupid—to Ichigo who was watching the news in the living room. Thankfully there was nothing about a half-dead man from last night.

Ichigo pushed himself off the couch and went to the bedroom. "What are you doing midget?" he asked as he leaned against the doorframe and watched Rukia ripping the bed into shreds.

"I'm trying to get this bed sheet off so I can get it washed," she blushed, "And I'm having a tough time."

Ichigo raised a brow at her. "What are you talking about? You can beat the crap out of me but you can't take off a skimpy bed sheet?"

Rukia glared at him with a full-blown blush. "I'm still…"

"What?" he strained his ears when the volume of her voice died down.

"I'm still sore!" She glared, angry at him for making her say something so embarrassing.

Ichigo was stunned at her sudden confession but couldn't stop the smirk that suddenly appeared. "Wear you out, did I?"

"Shut up!" she screamed, throwing a pillow at him.

"Hahaha, okay okay," he lifted his hands in sign of defeat after the third pillow hit him. But he couldn't stop his laughter as he walked over to help. But his merriment immediately died when he saw it. "You're going to wash this because…" he couldn't finish his sentence.

Rukia looked at him before looking down at the stain he was staring at. "Yeah, I didn't like the idea of sleeping on top of that."

Ichigo merely nodded as he silently peeled off the sheets.

Rukia watched, noticing his sudden silence. "Ichigo, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, "It's just that, well…this," he held up the sheet in front of him, "I wasn't exactly planning on doing what we did this morning, especially under those reasons."

_So that was what he was mumbling about earlier,_ she mused. As Ichigo continued staring at the sheet she came up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why is it bothering you so much? I'm okay with it," she told him.

Ichigo sighed as he dropped the sheet and wrapped an arm around her waist in return. "I just feel like a jerk taking advantage of you when you were still emotionally unstable."

"No I wasn't," she said, "I gave you my full consent and we both shared a magical moment that I don't regret. So you better not either."

"I don't regret it," he looked down at her, "But it might have been better if we waited until _after_ you graduated. And in a more romantic setting."

Rukia smiled. "I didn't take you as a romantic."

"Only when I'm desperate," he smirked before pulling her closer. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head as he held her. "You really don't regret it?"

"Nope," she replied, "I'm happy."

"Good, because I am too," he smiled. "And might I add you're quite the moaner." He was immediately rewarded with a painful stomp to his foot. Ichigo laughed and cringed at the pain all at once as he peered out the window to see the full moon shining brightly in the clear night sky, completely different from the downpour of the day before.

It seemed even nature was content with their union.

* * *

A/N: That ends the promised lemon though it won't be the last time it will appear in this story. I'm writing more chapters with lemon and better versions of it too. Again, sorry if this chapter disappointed anyone. I'm still not 100% yet but hopefully I'll get better soon and write better stuff. It's the least I can do for all the love you guys have been showing me.

I have a feeling that something is missing in this chapter, and I'm sure some of you guys feel it too. It seems like the problem from the previous chapter didn't get completely resolved. I wonder why I did that... *snicker* you guys will have to wait (MUWHAHA! I'm evil)

THANKS for reading and don't forget to review!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!

Preview for next chapter:

Autumn School Festival and the Maid Cafe...oh the torture!


	17. 17 School Festival

**Author's Note: THANK YOU for the reviews and all the 'get well' messages!!!! I got better really quickly because of them *kisses***

**This is the famous school festival that I've been talking about since the beginning of this story. And Keigo's dream of a MAID CAFE is finally becoming a reality. This takes place in two different day: it starts off TWO days before the festival, and later it skips to the day of the festival. I wanted to clarify that now before anyone gets confused.**

**And also to clarify a question I got from several of you guys: in Japan, the school year is much different from the US. They attend school from around May until March, getting one month break before starting the next grade. And in the middle they also get a month of summer vacation. So all this time, Rukia has been a senior in high school. Graduation isn't until later.**

**For those who prefer NOT to read the LEMON, there is a WARNING sign below. Once you get to that part just stop and go to the last A/N. Hope that works for you guys.**

**Please read and enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 17: School Festival

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Rukia couldn't suppress her groan as Keigo excitedly jumped around next to her. She looked around the class and noticed two different reactions:

The guys looked excited as Keigo…

The girls looked about ready to kill him.

A sigh came from her as she called for attention. "Okay guys, Ishida-sensei just gave me the maid costumes for the festival."

"YESSS!"

"GO PUT IT ON!"

"SHOW IT OFF BABY!"

"WOOHOO!"

The guys were cheering off the hook as Keigo lifted up one of the outfits in front of the class. Rukia could practically see their pervert fantasies playing in their minds. It was disgusting.

"No way," Tatsuki growled, "I'm not wearing that! It's too fucking short!"

"My boobs would pop out of those," Matsumoto pouted earning hungry stares from the male homosapiens in the class.

"Don't worry my goddess of valleys! I made sure the Handicraft Club spent extra time to make your outfit fit you perfectly!" Keigo swooned.

"Rukia, do something!" Tatsuki screamed at her.

Rukia rubbed her temples at the throbbing headache that was coming full on. "The festival is this Friday—which is the day after tomorrow—and there's nothing I can do about it. Just deal with it for a couple of hours and you can spend rest of the weekend burning it into ashes."

Tatsuki kept her scowl as she slumped in her seat. "I'd be more satisfied if I can kill that bastard over there," she nodded her head towards the dumbass in front of the classroom.

"I wouldn't mind if you did," Rukia nodded.

"Neh, why is my lovely Kuchiki-san angry?" Keigo cried out fake tears as he clung onto the maid outfit as if for dear life (and it just might be so for Keigo). "Do you not like this design? I made sure the right amount of skin would be visible for others to see!" he almost sounded proud…no, wait, he WAS proud!

"That's it! I'm going to kill him!" Tatsuki jumped up from her seat but everyone quickly gathered and held onto the she-devil before she could reach the front of the classroom.

"EIK!" Keigo quickly hid behind Rukia for safety.

Now she was standing in between the demon-possessed, second strongest girl of Japan and the stupid pervert behind her. "Tatsuki, calm down! You can't kill him at school!"

"Then give him to me _after_school and I'll kill him then!" she shouted.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Fine, but do it somewhere _far_ away from school. We don't want any suspicion from the authority." Keigo stared at the 'lovely Kuchiki-san' who just betrayed him.

"DEAL!" Tatsuki nodded and she immediately sat back down as she started strategizing on ways to deliver the most slow and painful death.

"NO!" Keigo screamed as ran out of the classroom.

Once his screams disappeared down the hallway, Rukia reached for the box and dropped it on top of a desk. "Well, I might as well pass this out. When you hear your name please come and grab you costume."

One by one the girls came to the front of the classroom as Rukia handed them a white box that contained everything from their maid outfits to their heels to their stockings. Yup, Keigo didn't leave out _any _detail. The guys remained in their seats since they didn't have to do anything but prepare meals while the ladies served their customers.

"Don't forget to bring them on Friday," Rukia reminded the girls as she threw the empty box to one corner of the room to be taken back to the prop room for future usage. She looked around the classroom and noticed most of the girls were hiding their boxes away from the eyes and hands of hormonal boys while some of the girls were pulling out the content to not only see if it would fit them but to show them off to the boys. Cat calls were made when Hinamori accidently lifted up a garter belt.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" she squealed in fright.

Tatsuki and Matsumoto quickly went to her side to protect her from their male classmates who suddenly started to drool. "Don't mess with her," Matsumoto threatened with a hard glare, "Or you'd have to face Hitsugaya-sensei."

Immediately the guys returned to their seats and started talking about the weather, laughing as if nothing happened.

But Hinamori was still mortified by the leathery object on her table.

"Man, I can't believe we even have to wear this," Tatsuki scratched her hair in annoyance.

Rukia went over to her group of friends and stood next to Hinamori, gently patting her back to calm her down. "Don't worry, I'm sure we don't have to wear _all_ this. Just don't forget to wear a pair of shorts and a shirt underneath the outfit."

A groan of protest suddenly came from the guys—who were apparently eavesdropping—who quickly clamped their mouth and started whistling a random tune when Tatsuki glared at them with 'death' written in her eyes.

_Ding ding ding!_

"Well, looks like that's the end of school," Rukia announced to the class and everyone started packing up to leave. The entire week had been spent preparing for the festival so no actual studying has been going on. Rukia grabbed her school bag that contained her costume and quickly left the classroom with her friends.

"Are you going to try out the outfit?" Matsumoto asked the others.

"I-I don't know," Hinamori gulped, "Shi—Hitsugaya-sensei is visiting today so I guess not."

"Eh?" Matsumoto elbowed the blushing girl with a knowing look, "This is the _perfect_ time to try out the costume then. Don't you want to show it off in front of sensei?"

"NO!" she frantically shook her head. "I can't—I mean, um—"

"Aw, is Momo-chan blushing? Its okay if you want to since he's your fiancé and everything. It'd be even better if he had some sort of maid-fetish, which means you guys can take it with you on your honeymoon!"

"Stop teasing!" Hinamori pouted as Matsumoto laughed.

"Geez, you sure know how to make the girl red," Tatsuki smirked as she looked at Hinamori who was blushing the brightest red in the world.

"Momo."

The four girls looked up and Hinamori gasped when she aw her fiancé waiting for her in front of the school gates. "Shiro-chan, what are you doing here?" She called him by his nickname without realizing it.

A white eyebrow rose as Hitsugaya stared at her. "Don't call me that anymore. And I'm here so I can go home with you. Your parents are expecting both of us, you know."

Hinamori looked down to hide her blush but Matsumoto was not the type to let an opportunity pass.

"Aw, sensei you're too cute!" she squealed as she pinched Histugaya's cheek.

A clear vein appeared on his forehead. "Matsumoto," he hissed through his clamped teeth, "Do you want me to assign you extra homework? Because you're obviously asking for it with the way you're disrespecting your teacher!"

But Matsumoto only pulled on his cheek harder. "You should know by now your threats don't affect me," she laughed, "Besides, school's out and we're _outside _of the campus—" she pointed to the ground and they were all clearly a foot away from the school's gate, "—so you're technically not my sensei at the moment."

Something about her words brought a strange tingle in Rukia's chest.

Swapping her annoying hand away, Hitsugaya grabbed Hinamori's hand and pulled her away from her friends. "Let's go Momo," he growled as he started dragging her away.

"Don't forget to use the costume!" Matsumoto shouted after them, and further embarrassed them by adding, "And be gentle with her sensei! Remember, you guys are not married yet!!"

"SHUT UP MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya's yell came clearly from the other side of the street.

"I think you might have scarred them for life," Tatsuki laughed.

"Hitsugaya-sensei was blushing really red," Rukia chuckled, "Poor Momo."

"Ah, don't worry about them," Matsumoto smirked, "Even though Momo acts all shy, she's a tough kid inside."

"Well, she has to be if she's getting married to Hitsugaya-sensei," Tatsuki nodded.

"Which reminds me," Matsumoto started as the three walked down the street, "When are they getting married?"

"After graduation," Rukia replied.

"Yeah, but _when_? How long after graduation?" the strawberry-blonde asked again, "Aren't we going to be bridesmaids? Shouldn't we be planning her wedding?"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "First of all, I'd rather not go if I have to wear a stupid pink fluffy dress; and second, I think their families are planning it so we don't have to do anything but be present."

"Hmph, I was looking forward to planning her wedding," Matsumoto pouted.

Rukia smiled at her friend. "Then let's just plan her bridal shower instead! I'm sure we can go over-the-top since we're not taking part in planning the wedding."

"Excellent idea Rukia! I'll call Momo's parents and see when the exact date is for their wedding. Oh, this is getting exciting!" Matsumoto squealed.

Rukia and Tatsuki laughed next to their busty friend as they continued their walk home.

As they continued their slow walk, Tatsuki suddenly changed subject. "Oh yeah! Hey Rukia," she looked at her friend, "Have you heard from Renji?"

At the mentioning of the red head, all merriment disappeared. Rukia sighed as she shook her head. "No. I tried calling him but he's not picking up his phone. I called his guardians but apparently they don't know much either. He just left the house one day telling them he needed to go and get his head cleared. And a few nights ago they were faxed some papers to transfer him to another high school."

Tatsuki shook her head in disappointment. "Too bad he left."

"Yeah," Matsumoto agreed, "But what made him leave in the first place? Did he get into some kind of fight with Kurosaki-sensei?"

Rukia looked down, trying to avoid eye contact. Neither she nor Ichigo knew what was wrong with Renji, but she tried not bringing him up since Ichigo would get frustrated every time he thought about that red-haired student.

Several minutes later, Rukia stopped at the end of the street and waved at her friends. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she called out as her friends crossed the street.

"See ya Rukia!" Tatsuki saluted back.

"Bye bye!" Matsumoto waved as she continued walking with Tatsuki for another few blocks.

Once they were out of view, Rukia quickly ran the rest of the way home, not even bothering to stop by Urahara's store for a recharge of sweets. She could always stop by the next day, but right now she needed to go home and see if she can do anything about the cursed maid costume.

The moment she came up to the front door, she quickly unlocked it and went it. Kicking off her shoes, Rukia quickly made her way to her…their bedroom and pulled out the box from her bag. How the _fuck_ do you even put this on?

_An Hour Later…_

Rukia looked at herself in the mirror and pouted.

Yes, the dress was completely ridiculous. It was too small and too lacy for her taste.

The costume was black, which fitted her body to show off her curves, cut to show off a good amount of whatever cleavage she had, and short enough that it showed off the garter belt located high on her thigh. If she doesn't wear a pair of shorts, it would be no different from flashing everyone wherever she went.

Rukia pulled on the dress as she tried to lower the dress but it wouldn't budge.

"Stupid Asano…" she growled.

From beyond the room, Rukia heard the front door opening and closing. "Ichigo?" she called out to check.

"Yeah," he replied back. She heard him grunting in frustration as he pulled his shoes off and entered the apartment. "Rukia? Where are you?"

"In the bedroom," she replied as she turned around to see the back part of the outfit. Damn, she could practically see her ass under all that lace.

"What are you—" The words stopped the moment Ichigo came to the door and saw Rukia in the maid costume.

Ichigo was having the worse day at school with Uryuu breathing down his neck to help out the students with decorations. He almost fell off the ladder four times, stubbed his thumb with the hammer at least three times, got water dropped on him twice, and ran over by his students once. Overall, it was a BAD day for him…that was, until he got home.

The moment he came to their bedroom, he was greeted with a very good view of a cute tusshie underneath a sinful costume.

Rukia, whose back was still facing Ichigo, looked back over her shoulders and frowned at his blank expression. "Ichigo?" she called as she turned around, "You okay?"

Without bothering to answer, Ichigo was out of the doorway and in front of Rukia, grabbing the back of her head and bringing her up meet him for a hot kiss.

"Mmph!" her body tensed at the sudden change in the situation but once her brain grasped what was going on, she started to respond back to him. His tongue slid into her mouth and Rukia let out a pleasurable moan at the feeling.

"Dammit," he mumbled as he started pressing wet kisses all over her face until he reached her neck, "Where did you get this outfit?"

"Liking it, huh?" she teased, fighting back a moan as one of his hands came up to massage her breasts. "D-don't wrinkle it! I-I need—ah!—to wear it on F-Friday," her sentence turned into breathless gasped as his touches started getting rougher.

"You can't possibly expect me to stop now, do you?" he growled against her neck. Before she could protest, Ichigo hands came down to the back of her knees and lifted Rukia off the ground and she quickly wrapped her legs around his hips. A moan came from his lips. "I thought you didn't want to ruin the dress."

Rukia smirked as she massaged his scalp. "I don't. That just means I'm going to be on top."

An orange-colored brow went up and an evil grin tugged on Ichigo's lips. "Fine with me." He suddenly walked towards the bed but turned around before falling on to the bed so he was lying down completely on the mattress and Rukia was still straddling on his hips.

The smirk never left Rukia's lips as she sat up straight and started pulling on the bow, slowly undoing the lace that was criss-crossing over the front of her chest that held up the upper part of her dress. Ichigo eyed every single detail as she _slowly_ undid the lace and it loosened. Ichigo brought up his hands and started to pull out the lace one by one until he saw the skin underneath.

An evil grin appeared. "No bra?"

Rukia smirked. "The dress looked sturdy enough to hold up my chest but I'm planning on wearing one on Friday."

"Which one?" he asked. He reached up to separate the sides of her dress and palmed the breasts that were visible in front of him. The dress was practically still on her, only opened enough to have her breasts spilling out.

Rukia bit back a groan as she tried to answer him. "I-I was thinking about the b-black one."

"That skimpy lacy one?" he grinned, "You know that's my favorite."

Rukia grinned back though her labored breathing. "Exactly."

---

Ichigo looked from side to side as he walked down the hallway. A groan came from him as he eyed the decorations all over the school. It was finally Friday, which meant the school yearly festival was going on now.

This was the time of year when students from junior high schools were invited to check different high schools to help decide which one to go to the following year. And parents, little children, and townspeople also came to see the attraction.

"Kurosaki-sensei!" A student called after him, "Come here and check out our haunted house!"

"Next time," Ichigo answered back as he continued his walk.

"Hey, Kurosaki-sensei, wanna come play some hoops with us?" one of the basketball players asked him.

Ichigo shook his head. "I haven't played ball in awhile so I'm really bad," he excused himself with a wave. Students were called for him left and right, asking him to check out their classroom or join them outside for some sports. But nothing was really catching his interest at the moment so he didn't stop.

"ICHIGO!"

Okay, maybe that will.

Ichigo stopped to glare at the person who had just called out his name. "Arisawa, there are other students and parents around. Don't talk to me too formally or they'll become suspicious."

Tatsuki only slapped his back. "They don't even know you're a teacher so who cares?" she scoffed, ignoring her old babysitter's evil glare. "Anyways, you want to go check out our café?"

Ichigo looked at her before eyeing what she was wearing. "Why aren't you wearing that maid costume?" he asked, noticing she was wearing her usual school uniform and not the outfit she was supposed to be wearing for the festival.

"Che, like I'd wear that flimsy thing," she rolled her eyes. "I threatened Keigo and everyone else in class that I'd kill them if they make me wear that outfit. So now I get to work in the back, making the drinks and food. Pretty smart, huh?" she smirked.

"You're really something," Ichigo shook his head with a chuckle, "Anyways, I'll come by in a bit. I just need to stop by the faculty lounge and turn something in."

"Oh! That reminds me. When you come over, bring Hitsugaya-sensei with you!" she exclaimed, "She's not saying anything but I know Momo wants him there."

Ichigo nodded as he started to walk away. "I'll bring him," he waved back as he continued his way to the office. As he slid open the door, Ichigo noticed that it was practically empty. He looked over to one side and luckily noticed the white hair sticking out from stacks of paper and books. "Oi, Toushiro," he called out.

Hitsugaya looked up and frowned to see Ichigo approaching him. "What do you want, Kurosaki?"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Ichigo leaned against the desk next to Hitsugaya's, and shrugged. "I just had to give Ishida something," he waved some paper that he was carrying before tossing it down on Uryuu's desk. "But now I'm free."

"Well, don't let me hold you up. Leave and enjoy the festival," Hitsugaya immediately turned back to his work, trying to ignore the man next to him.

But there was no way Ichigo would give up _that_ easily. "Why don't you join me? I heard my homeroom class set up a really nice theme that's getting a lot of attention."

Hitsugaya scoffed. "If you haven't noticed, I'm busy. Just go by yourself."

"What are you doing, anyways?" Ichigo asked as he looked down, "We didn't have to do anything this week because of the festival so why are you working."

A sigh came from the young teacher. "For your information, this is actually a private matter so I'd appreciate it if you would just leave me alone."

Ichigo smirked. "I would but I kind of promised someone to drag your sorry-ass with me to my class."

"Why?" he groaned.

Feeling mischievous for some reason, Ichigo leaned down closer to his friend and said, "Don't you want to see your little fiancé in that sinful outfit Ishida made?"

A noticeable twitch came from Htisugaya's left eye. The pen in his hand stilled and he stared at the paper with no real reason.

The smirk grew bigger. "You wouldn't want anyone else checking her out now would you?" And that was the final straw.

Hitsugaya shot up and made his way to the door. "Let's go, Kurosaki," he shouted and the orange-haired teacher was right next to him as they both left the office and made their way to class 3-2.

By the time they reached the classroom, they noticed a large line by the door. Mizuiro, who was serving as the host, noticed his two teaches and waved. "Kurosaki-sensei, Hitsugaya-sensei. What brings you two to this neck of the wood?"

"Well, we came to check out the café and I guess it's going well," Ichigo lowly whistled as he looked down the long line. "Guess we won't be able to get in for another hour or so."

"Nonsense," Mizuiro shook his head, "You're our homeroom teacher so it won't be a problem." Totally ignoring the groans and protests from the other people, he stuck his head into the room and called out, "Hinamori-san! Can you please come and serve our two new guests!"

"Hai!" they heard her respond.

Hitsugaya had to remind himself over and over again to remain calm as he waited for his fiancé to appear. But it was impossible to fight off the bright blush from appearing on his cheeks when Hinamori suddenly popped out wearing a tight and sinfully short black-and-white dress.

Hinamori looked at her two teachers and smiled sweetly. "Please follow me," she led them inside.

Ichigo grinned as he and a very red Hitsugaya entered the classroom and sat down on a recently vacant seat. "So, how are things going here?" he asked.

"Oh, it's going really well," Hinamori smiled, "Asano-kun's idea was really good, though I can't really say that to these costumes he had Ishida-sensei make for us," she said as she fingered the hem of her skirt.

If he was drinking anything at the moment, Hitsugaya knew he would have spat everything out.

"So, what can I get you?"

Ichigo looked through the menu that she offered them. "Just get me plain black coffee and a slice of coffee cake."

"Okay," she quickly scribbled Ichigo's order into her notepad before looking up at the other teacher. "And what you would like, Hitsugaya-sensei?"

"Um…" Damn, his brain just wasn't working properly!

"How about the chocolate smoothie with extra whip cream on top? It's really sweet!" she smiled with a light blush. "And the cheesecake that we made is really good too."

Hitsugaya looked at her and shyly smiled back. "That sounds good," he nodded.

"Alright then," Hinamori took back the menus and quickly went to the corner of the room that was closed off to the customers and made as a kitchen so they could prepare the meals.

Ichigo smirked at his friend. "Must be nice to have a girl who knows everything you like."

Hitsugaya lightly glared at him. "Shut up, Kurosaki. I'm sure you have your share of women so stop bothering me."

"Che, like I'd actually waste my time with any of those idiot bimbos," Ichigo scoffed, referring to the type of girls that used to throw themselves at him when they were both in high school.

A white brow went up. "You mean to say you still haven't gotten together with anyone yet? What's with you acting so civil when it comes to relationships? I thought you'd be whoring around with different girls every day with that reputation of yours."

"Geez, thanks," Ichigo glared. "Nice to know my friends have such high opinions of me."

Hitsugaya smirked as he took a look around the classroom.

Ichigo grunted as he propped one of his arms up on the table by the elbow and rested his chin on his palm. He also took a quick scan around the classroom. And just as the title of the theme stated, it was a _maid_ café—which meant only the girls—in those cursed costumes, who were serving the customers—who were mostly men.

He was getting slightly bored while waiting for his order when someone suddenly appeared from behind the 'kitchen.'

"Kuchiki-san! Can you take these to table 3?" someone shouted.

"Okay!" Rukia replied as she took the tray and walked over to three tables away from where Ichigo was.

Ichigo tried to look away but his eyes were sticking to Rukia as she did that cute walk that made her tiny hips swing left and right. Just seeing her in that outfit again made him think back to two nights ago when he saw her wearing it for the first time in their bedroom.

And man, that was one exciting night.

Since she was being so anal about keeping her maid outfit wrinkle-free, they went the first round with her on top of him, still wearing the damn dress that was only half undone since it would have taken _way _too much precious time taking it off of her. But when second round came, Ichigo had to take the dress off of her, but was smacked over the head several times when he started tugging on it a bit too roughly. Still, it was one of the hottest nights especially since Rukia did a little role-play just to tease him.

Guess who got to play 'master'?

"Here it is!"

Ichigo was sadly—but thankfully—pulled out of his thoughts when Hinamori suddenly returned. "Thanks," he said as he took his coffee. He took a sip as she placed a glass of chocolate smoothie and a plate of cheesecake in front of her fiancé.

"Is there anything else I can get you two?" she asked.

Ichigo looked down and frowned. "Yeah, I'm still—"

"Momo! You forgot this!"

The three turned to see Rukia approaching them with a plate of coffee cake.

"Ara, I forgot about that!" Hinamori gasped before turning back to Ichigo to apologize. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-sensei, things are so hectic that I forgot to bring it to you."

"No, don't worry about it," he tried to smile, ignoring the evil glare he was getting from a certain person across from him, "At least Ru-Kuchiki brought it over."

"Yes, well," Hinamori looked over to see Rukia coming to stand next to her, on the same side as Ichigo. "You can place that here; it's Kurosaki-sensei's," she informed her friend.

Rukia nodded as she placed the plate in front of him. "I hope you two are enjoying the festival," she smiled.

Hitsugaya nodded as he took a bit of his cheesecake. "We are. And how is the café going?" he asked her, just to start off a light conversation like any sensible person would.

Rukia smiled sweetly at her math teacher. "It's going quite well. And Momo here—" she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "—is really good at serving. I guess it comes from her part-time job at the restaurant."

A frown appeared on Hitsugaya's face. "Yeah, about that. Momo—"

"No, I'm not going to quit," she quickly cut in.

"But—"

"No." she pouted.

Hitsugaya sighed as he readied himself for another argument. "Momo, your parents and I think—"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he let the young couple continue their little lover's quarrel. He looked back at Rukia and tried to keep his smirk at bay. "Really, how is it going, _Kuchiki_?"

Rukia gave him the exact same smile but leaned closer. "Not bad except for some perverts who are trying to feel me up."

The scowl suddenly deepened. "Who?" he growled angrily.

"You don't have to worry about that," she said, "I already took care of them."

Ichigo looked around to make sure nobody was looking as he scooted a little bit closer to the edge of his seat and snuck his hand on her leg. "How?"

She fought off a shudder and moved a few inches closer. "I most likely have broken their arms."

"Ah, I knew you were learning from some of things I've been teaching you," he smirked as his hand slithered a little bit higher.

"Kuchiki-san!" Ichigo quickly took back his hand when somebody from the 'kitchen' called her. "Can you take these to table 12?"

"Hai!" Rukia replied as she left Ichigo's side, but not before giving him a look that made him grin widely. He watched very carefully as she walked away with her swinging hips.

Oh, yeah. The bitch was obviously teasing him.

Taking another sip of his coffee, Ichigo looked up to see Hitsugaya smirking at his fiancé who was pouting at him. Shaking his head, Ichigo lifted his fork to take a bite of his coffee cake when he noticed a piece of paper between the bottom of the plate and the desk.

With great caution Ichigo slipped the paper out and unfolded it under the table. He strained his neck to bend back while keeping the rest of his body still as he tried to read the message.

_Meet me back here during the bonfire tonight._

–_Rukia _

Ichigo's grin just widened.

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**Warning**: Lemon here until the rest of the chapter. Just go to the end and read the ending A/N

* * *

The clear night was lighted by the full moon up above when everyone (mostly the students and staff members of the school along with a few other guests) gathered at the soccer field to join in on fun of the lighting a bonfire.

Inside the school building the classrooms were already cleaned up of anything that might indicate a festival might have taken place. The lights were off and hallways were empty…

Well, sort of.

Ichigo shoved his hands deep in his pocket as he quietly made his way to classroom 3-2, the class he taught homeroom. It was bit eerie since it was dark and _too_ quiet, but knowing who was waiting for him, Ichigo continued his pace.

When he reached the door, he swung it open to see a 'maid' waiting for him against the table in front of the room.

"Took you long enough," she scoffed.

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind him. He quickly locked the door before making his way to her. "Sorry but I was kind of busy trying to shake off Keigo. He kept asking me for sex tips."

A single brow went up. "And what did you tell him?" she asked.

A smirk appeared as Ichigo appeared directly in front of her. Without warning, he bent down to grab the back of her legs to push her up onto the desk, situating her on top of it. A small squeal of shock came from her as she grabbed his arms tightly. Ichigo chuckled before he bent down to peck her lips. "I just told him to get an actual girl first before he asks me anything about sex."

Rukia smiled as she puckered her lips to meet his sweet kisses every time his lips came down on hers. "But you should thank him for making this wonderful costume," she giggled as Ichigo's fingers feathered up and down her thigh.

Ichigo chuckled back as his hands went to hold onto Rukia's legs as he placed himself between them. "Don't worry. I'm planning on giving him an extra point on his next homework."

"Is that enough to actually help him pass?" she asked.

"Nope," Ichigo shook his head, "His grade would still be below 20-percent."

A small laugh came from Rukia in between their sweet kisses. "Ichigo," she sighed, "What were you doing all day today?"

"Hmm," he hummed against her lips before slowly making his way to her creamy neck. "I was too busy thinking about this naughty ass of yours," he emphasized by grabbing both cheeks and gave them a tight squeeze.

A short gasp came from her throat and Ichigo immediately took the chance to nip at her neck as she swung her head back to give him more access.

Ichigo chuckled at how submissive she had become. "What about you? Have you been shaking these naughty hips—" he started caressing her little bottom "—in front of anyone else?"

"N-no," she stuttered as her hands came up to grips his orange hair, "I only wanted to tease you."

His laughed against her skin as his tongue came out to draw wet circles on her neck. "Rukia," he breathed out as he pulled her body closer to his. Her legs parted even further to accommodate his body against her. She sucked in a sharp breath when she felt the protrusion in front of his pants.

"Ichigo," she moaned. He only responded with a low growl when he felt one of her hands leaving his head to slide down his body. It stopped by his belt and she started to tug at it.

"Rukia," he groaned when her fingers lightly brushed against his erection. "Slow down. Nobody's going to bother us."

"Ichigo," she whimpered again, "I just—OH! Look at that!"

"Eh?" Ichigo immediately detached himself away from Rukia when she suddenly spoke in a cheery tone, no trace of lust mixed in her voice like he wanted her to. "What the—" his words got cut off when she pointed towards the window with wide eyes. Ichigo looked over to see, in the middle of the dark, a bright glow coming from below.

Totally ignoring what she was just doing, Rukia jumped off the desk and ran towards the window. "They just started the bonfire," she grinned with the cheerfulness of a child at the amusement park for the first time. She leaned against the window ledge and gazed outside into the middle of the soccer field.

Ichigo groaned in annoyance as he made his way towards her. "This better be worth it. You just interrupted a very good foreplay."

"Oh shut up and come here," she glared before looking back outside again. "Almost everyone is down there—Look! It's Momo and Hitsugaya-sensei!" she pointed down.

Ichigo looked outside to see the young couple holding hands as they stood by the bonfire with the remaining students, staff and guests. "Che, looks like even he knows how to act in the moment." He looked to his side to see a big smile on Rukia's face. He leaned over and whispered, "Do you want to go down there too?"

Rukia shook her head. "It's prettier from up here, besides," she turned to him and kissed him on the lips, "I still want to finish what we started." She smiled sweetly at him before looking back outside again.

Ichigo smirked as he watched the happiness that was literally shining in her eyes like the bonfire down below. It was almost impossible to look away from her…

Note the word: _almost_.

Ichigo pushed himself off the window ledge and peered down, down…down her backside where her ass was sticking up into the air. He leaned his head even further back to see what was under all the laces of her dress.

A grin appeared on his face when he noticed she had taken off her black shorts and was only wearing her skimpy panties underneath. And what really caught his interest was the wet stain in the middle of where he was rubbing his erection against only a minute ago. Ichigo looked back up to see her attention still on the bonfire below.

An evil plan started to form in his mind.

A wide grin was plastered on her face as Rukia continued staring down below. She could definitely make out some of her friends. Hinamori was holding hands with a seemingly blushing Hitsugaya. Matsumoto was most likely making fun of Ikkaku's bald head again. And Tatsuki was now joining her.

Maybe it'd be nice to go down there and join them but—

"AH!" she gasped when she suddenly felt her panties being slid to the side and Ichigo's thick tongue suddenly licking between her womanly folds from behind. "I-Ichi—ah!" Incoherent words escaped her lips as Ichigo parted her wet folds with his fingers and continued attacking her with his skillful tongue. She could do nothing but feel the sinful bliss he was giving her. She pushed her lower body toward him even further while bending forward. Her fingers grasped onto the ledge with all her might as she spread her legs further.

A groan of approval came from Ichigio as he pushed his tongue in between her folds.

"Ichigo!" she yelped at the feeling of her womanhood getting penetrated with his thick, wet tongue.

Ichigo remained quiet as he concentrated on his tongue in pleasing the woman before him. The tent in his pants was getting bigger and he knew he needed to relieve himself quickly.

Feeling her body lowering as her legs parted even more, Rukia grabbed the side of the closest desk—coincidently it was her own desk—and held on tighter. Her release finally came with a mumbled scream and his tongue lapped on the juices that were dripping out of her core. Rukia's entire body felt like jelly and she had to maneuver her body to lay it on top of the desk to stop herself from collapsing on the ground. Just as she was trying to control her breathing, the damn bastard inserted a finger and _slowly_ pumped in and out to build up the tension inside of her again. "I-Ichigo," she moaned as she peered over her shoulder to see his orange hair sticking out behind her exposed ass, "Stop teasing."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

She could literally hear his ego oozing out of his voice.

Fuck, looked like she had to beg again.

"Please, Ichigo," she whimpered, "I want you."

"Want me? How do you want me?" he chuckled as he inserted another finger inside of her and caressed her walls.

"Ah!" she screamed, "Ichigo!"

He smirked before getting off from his knees and pulled down his zipper. He parted his boxers and pulled out his standing erection that was throbbing to get in her. "Rukia," he called out, "How do you want it?" A gasp came from Rukia when he started teasing her by rubbing the head of his erection against her swollen lips.

"Hard," she breathed, "Don't you dare hold back, Kurosaki."

"Che, I wasn't planning to, Kuchiki," he chuckled before slamming himself fully into her tight sheath from the back. "Fuck!" he gasped at the amazing sensation.

"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed as she was suddenly sent into another orgasm.

Ichigo grunted as he kept himself still. If he moved now while she was still riding through her high, then he would surely explode too early in the game. "Rukia" he grunted. He watched as her stiff shoulders relaxed and heard her taking in deep breaths. Her grip on him loosened a bit and he knew that meant her ride was over…for now.

Very carefully Ichigo moved her limp body to a better position on the desk and gripped her hips tightly as Rukia gripped the desk to prepare herself for the ride of her life.

"Ichigo," she whimpered.

"Right here, babe," he replied before pulling out and thrusting back in harder.

"Ah!" her shoulders stiffened again as he started pulling and pushing inside her. "Ichigo!" she screamed.

Ichigo grunted as he moved his hips, the sound of their sweaty skin slamming into each other reached his ears. It was one of the most pleasing sounds he had ever heard…next to Rukia's moans. He grabbed one of her legs and raised it a bit higher as he continued his wild thrusts. "Rukia," he grunted, "I'm almost there."

Rukia bit her lower lip to stop her screams as his thrust became harder, faster and even more desperate. "I-Ichigo! I'm—ah!—I'm there!" she screamed as she was thrown into an even more powerful release.

The moment he felt his erection being gripped even tighter inside her already tight pussy, Ichigo drove his hips deeper several times before erupting everything within her, filling up her womb so much as their juices mixed together and started dripping out of her core.

Once things started to calm down, Ichigo slumped on top of Rukia's limp body to catch his breathing. The two stayed still for several minutes, him still inside of her, while listening to nothing but the noise outside.

"Ichigo," she finally spoke.

"Mmm?" he replied, his warm breath fanning the back of Rukia' neck, causing goosebumps to rise up.

"Get off" she grunted as she tried to move underneath him, "You're heavy."

Ichigo looked at her before lightly laughing. "Fine," he said as he reluctantly pulled his exhausted body off of her…and out of her. The two moaned as Ichigo pulled out completely. But his legs were still unstable from their wild ride that he quickly fell to the ground, landing next to another desk. "Damn," he grunted as he sat up straight and tried to straighten out his clothes—tucking you-know-what back inside—as he leaned against the desk.

Rukia took in one more breath as her legs gave out once he pulled away from her. Her knees bent forward and she couldn't stop herself as she slumped to the ground. She took several deep breaths before looking back at Ichigo.

He smiled back to her as he extended an arm towards her. With a small smile, Rukia scooted over towards him and settled inside his arm. It enclosed around her shoulder and held her tightly as he placed a kiss on top of her head.

The two stayed still as they watched the orange glow outside slowly dying out.

"Oi."

"Hmm?" she snuggled deeper in his embrace.

Ichigo lifted up her chin to smirk down at her. "I think I might have developed a fetish for maid costumes." Rukia quickly smacked his arm but a smile was evident on her face. Ichigo rubbed his arm while laughing. "Hey, that hurts."

"Good because it's supposed to hurt," she half-heartedly glared at him before resting her head back on his chest. "But I guess you're lucky since I get to keep this outfit after tonight."

A full blown wicked smile spread across his face as Ichigo held her tighter. "I'll put it to good use then."

* * *

A/N: HAHAHA! I can't stop thinking how risky Ichigo and Rukia are. I mean, having sex in school? BUT WAIT! I'm planning on writing even more riskier stuff soon! Sadly, I don't think I'm going to write more about playing with the maid outfit. It's too kinky for me.

I had fun writing this chapter, especially since I'm actually conscious while writing this. I'm sorry if I didn't respond to everyone's question...but most of you guys are asking me how it's going to end! I really want to tell you...but I can't! You'll have to wait like the rest. But continue posting your theories and maybe some of them might appear (although several people have already guessed the ending I had in mind). Also, for other people with smaller questions: I want to answer but there are TOO many of them so I can't get to all of them. I'm sorry but I mostly answer frequently asked questions. If you really need an answer, PM me and if it's something I can answer, then I will. But don't ask for the ending!! I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

I have already explained this once but just in case people forgot, I'll explain it again. High schools in Japan holds several events during the school. There are things from sports torunaments to career festival. In this case, the school is trying to promot itself to incoming students from junior high school students. They get to show off how cool and fun their school is so they can recruit new students the next year.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Preview for next chapter:

Risky sex...wait, did Renji's call? The Rumor strikes again!


	18. 18 Keeping Things Quiet

**Author's Note: MY BAD!!! I totally forgot to upload this new chapter. For some reason I thought I already did it until I realized I never got the "new chapter" email in my inbox.**

**So without further a due, here is the NEXT CHAPTER! It's everything that I promised last time...however, it's shorter. I tried to add more stuff in it but most of my brain is occupied with final papers right now so I can't think straight. But please read and enjoy!  
**

**Also, there's another WARNING sign below for those who want to skip the lemon. It's not all the way through this time, so look for the END OF WARNING later too.**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 18: Keeping Things Quiet

_

* * *

Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzz—_WHAM!

Rukia groaned as she strained to open her eyes. Everything around her seemed blurry and she couldn't focus her vision to read the time on the clock that she just smacked quiet.

"Fuck, it's already 7," she moaned as she tried to sit up. But something around her waist was stopping her. She sighed and tried to push the heavy arm off of her but he only held on tighter. "Ichigo, get up. We need to get ready for school."

"Mmm," he grunted as he pulled her body closer to him.

"Ichigo," she sighed, "It's Monday. Don't you have a staff meeting today?"

"I don't care," he mumbled against the pillow, "I need more sleep."

"Well you would have gotten more sleep if only you had left me alone last night," she glared at him.

A wide smirk appeared on his tan face before he slowly blinked open one eye to look at her. And there was that mischievous glint that always appeared right before he jumped her.

"Oh no, don't think I'm going to let you do _that_," she warned him. With whatever strength she had that moment Rukia shoved his body away from her, successfully getting out of his tight hold.

"Hey, why are you trying to ruin the fun?" he pouted.

Rukia rolled her eyes as she quickly slipped on the shirt Ichigo had on last night. She stood up from the bed and quickly started gathering all of her stuff to get ready for school. "Because unlike you, I actually want to go to school." She turned back and grinned. "Rangiku is treating me today afterschool."

Ichigo stared at her in disbelief. "So you actually won the bet?"

"Yup!" she announced happily. Rukia couldn't stop thinking about how she _accurately _stated that Hitsugaya-sensei would kiss Hinamori by the bonfire during the festival only a few days before. For some reason Matsumoto thought Hinamori would instigate it first but nope! Hitsugaya actually had a back bone. "She's taking me and the others to the new café that opened up last month. I heard the cake there is really good."

"Don't tell Urahara that. His heart's going to get broken," he joked as he rolled around under the covers.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" she asked him just before heading out the door.

Ichigo nodded. "You take a shower first. I'll get ready once you're done."

Rukia stared at him skeptically but when another minute passed on the clock she quickly headed to the bathroom to spend the next thirty minutes getting ready for school.

Once he heard the bathroom door close, Ichigo stretched his arms in front of him before straining his body to sit up. A big yawn came from him as he scratched an itch on his chest. Looking around he noticed how messy their room had become.

After the first night they _officially_ slept together, they ended up spending the rest of that day moving most of Rukia's stuff into his room (since there was no more reason not to). But they've been so busy with school and other bedroom activities that they never really had the chance to clean up the place properly.

"Psh, we can do that next week," he groaned as he swung his legs off the side of the bed and pushed himself up. In all his nude glory, Ichigo stretched the rest of his dormant muscles before slipping on a new pair of boxers and heading out the room.

He passed by the bathroom door where he could clearly hear the shower head running, and went straight for the kitchen. He was very tempted to go inside and join Rukia for a 'shower,' but she would just end up hitting him again. So he decided not to jump her in the shower…on school days at least. Once it was the weekend, she really didn't say anything to what he does to her.

When Ichigo reached the kitchen, he pulled open the refrigerator door and peer inside. There really wasn't much left in here which meant he needed to go to the groceries later afterschool. He reached in and started to pull out some random stuff to start making breakfast.

Several minutes passed before Rukia finally came out, drying her damp hair with a towel as she made her way to where the good smell was coming from. "What are you making?"

"Just some egg and toast for breakfast," he told her without turning away from the stove, "We need to go buy some food later today."

Rukia came up and stood next to him. "Well, I'm out for an hour or two after school which should give you enough time to finish your stuff and meet me at the grocery store."

"Psch," he snorted as he dumped the scramble eggs onto a plate, "No need to go that far. Let's just go to Urahara Shoten. That bastard's been trying to get me to come and check out his new vegetable garden. Not to mention he has whole bunch of stuff we can get for free."

Rukia merely shrugged her shoulders as she grabbed a glass of milk and sat down. "Okay, I can meet you there then."

As Ichigo brought the food to the table, he nodded back at her before taking a toast and walking away.

"Where are you going?" Rukia asked as she started to spread jam on her slice of toast.

"To take a fucking shower," Ichigo replied as he disappeared into the bathroom without another look. Rukia rolled her eyes as she quickly ate the breakfast Ichigo made for her.

Feeling bored without her foul-mouthed teacher next to her, Rukia looked around the apartment and cringed. They really needed to clean up the place soon. Oh well, that can wait until next week.

---

"Look who got up late."

Rukia rolled her eyes as she quickly sat down at her seat. "I'm not late."

"Yeah you are," Tatsuki snickered, "At least for your standards. You're usually here thirty minutes before the bell rings. But now there's only a minute left."

"Jeez, thanks for telling me how boring my life is," she groaned as the bell rung. Tatsuki grinned at her friend before heading back to her seat.

Ichigo entered through the door and walked up to the podium in front of the classroom. "'kay guys, settle down," he shouted over the noise. "I have some announcement." He waited for everyone to settle down and shut their mouths before continuing. "I just got some news from the staff meeting. Apparently on Friday, our class made the most money with the café."

A loud cheer exploded from the students of class 3-2, Keigo being the loudest of them all.

"Yeah and apparently, over the weekend the school got a lot of applications from incoming high school students so things are looking pretty good. I think you guys might get an award or something," Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"Does that mean we don't have to work today?" Keigo eagerly asked.

"Sorry but I'm not that generous," Ichigo said, "Let's start by discussing some questions." He turned around and started to write some stuff on the blackboard while the rest of the class pulled out their books with a heavy sigh.

But Rukia couldn't help but feel amazed at what Ichigo was teaching in front of the class. Even though his semi-permanent scowl was still in place, she could tell by his obvious body language that he was enjoying teaching the book. His muscles were relaxed and his mouth wouldn't stop moving, giving one commentary after another.

He never looked so sexy.

Rukia sighed as she looked down at her book to concentrate on the class and not her teacher/lover in front of the classroom when images flashed into her mind.

_Desk._

_Bonfire._

_Panting._

_Moaning._

_Thrusting._

"_Ichigo!"_

"_Rukia!"_

A deep blush crept onto Rukia's creamy cheeks as her eyes stayed glued on her desk. She just NOW remembered what she and Ichigo did on Friday.

To be more precise, what they did on TOP of her desk.

The images came screaming back into her mind and her body temperature was getting higher by the second!

Great, now she was going to think back to that night _every_ time she looked at her desk now!

Not to mention just thinking about what Ichigo did to her was making her panties really damp at the moment. The blush deepened so much that Rukia had to lower her head slightly to try and keep it hidden from anyone's eyes.

"Rukia-chan, are you okay?"

_Life is too cruel_.

Rukia turned her head slightly to the side and showed a small smile. "Of course I am. Why do you ask, Momo?" she whispered back.

Hinamori, who was in the seat next to Rukia, frowned. "Because your face is really red. Are you sick again?"

Rukia quickly shook her head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"But—"

"Kuchiki, Hinamori!"

The two girls flinched as they looked up to see their teacher standing before them with his famous glare. Not to mention everyone else in their class was looking at them as well.

"H-hai," Hinamori responded.

Ichigo looked between the two girls and asked, "Why don't you two share with the rest of the class what was so important that you _had_ to talk while I'm giving my lecture. Is it that boring?"

Rukia's blush just turned up several more shades as she thought about what might happen if she had to tell everyone what was really running through her mind.

Hinamori quickly shook her head frantically. "N-no, sensei! It's just that—" she looked over at Rukia in worry, "—Rukia-chan is looking really red so I was just worried!"

An orange brow went up as Ichigo turned to look at red faced Rukia. She really wasn't looking good. "You okay Kuchiki?" he asked as he placed a hand on her forehead. "Feeling sick again?"

A sudden shock ran down her spine and it took everything Rukia got to stop herself from moaning at just feeling his skin against her. She quickly swapped his hand away before she ended up leaning against it. "I'm fine," she answered.

"I don't think so. You said you were fine several months ago but in the end you ended up fainting," he remarked, "So I'll ask again: are you _okay_?"

Rukia looked up and glared at her _teacher_. "I'm really fine so please continue with class."

"I don't know," Matsumoto suddenly joined in, "You're looking really red."

"Yeah."

"I think so too."

"Maybe you should go lay down for a moment."

Rukia looked around to see her classmates voicing their worry for her. It almost made her feel better.

"Maybe she's thinking of some hot guy or something."

Like I said, she _almost_ felt better.

Rukia turned around to glare at Keigo while wearing her sweet smile. "Please shut up, Asano-kun."

Tatsuki laughs as Keigo quickly hid under his desk. "Nah, I bet it's because Ichigo's lecture is really boring." Others laughed alongside her, all except Rukia and Ichigo, who was still looking at her suspiciously.

"I doubt it," Matsumoto smiled at her friend, "This is Rukia we're talking about. She always pays attention."

"Is that so?" Ichigo snorts, "Then why don't Kuchiki tell the class where I left off before I came over here."

Rukia looked at him with wide eyes as she wracked her brain to remember something, anything, about the lecture he was giving.

"…"

_Nothing?!_ She yelled at herself mentally. Rukia remained quiet as she turned her attention to the closed book on her desk.

Ichigo's scowl deepened at her quiet response. "You really weren't paying attention, were you?"

Rukia remained still for a moment before reluctantly shaking her head. She could hear the class gasping in surprise.

"Fine, come to my office during lunch," Ichigo said sternly, "I'll decide your punishment then." He quickly returned to the front of the class to resume his lecture, while Rukia slumped lower into her seat.

_Stupid friends…stupid lecture…stupid desk…_

Rukia slightly looked up to glare at her teacher.

_Stupid Ichigo…_

---

**

* * *

WARNING**: Lemon. Look for the END OF WARNING sign to continue reading w/o the lemon

* * *

Rukia gasped as she clung onto Ichigo's shoulder tighter. "I-Ichi—mmhm," she moaned.

"Rukia," Ichigo grunted as he continued to thrust his hips upwards. His hold around her waist tightened as he started pumping in and out of her with greater velocity.

A scream was trying to escape Rukia's lip so she clamped her mouth on Ichigo's strained neck, biting hard as she felt her lower regions getting violated to the extreme. Even though her teeth were starting to draw out blood, Ichigo didn't even flinch. He just kept moving underneath her but starting to slow down.

They were in his office, door locked with a broom securing the lock even more as they continued what they were doing.

He just didn't want anyone to interrupt them.

She just didn't want to get caught.

Rukia knew from the moment Ichigo told her to see him during lunch that it would lead to this. They were still in their clothes except Ichigo had his pants open and Rukia's panties were pushed down to one ankle so he could attack her straight at where he wanted. It was his method of punishing her, which was working.

"Ichigo, please!" she begged.

But the stubborn man didn't respond. The speed of his erection going in and out of her slowed down again until his hips came to a complete stop.

Rukia groaned in frustration. "Ichigo," she pouted as she tried to move her hips but it was immobile under his strong grip.

"This is what you get for not paying attention," Ichigo smirked, though his breathing was heavy and his body was obviously strained.

"Ichigo," Rukia groaned as she tried swinging her hips to the side, "I'm so close."

Ichigo bit his lower lip as he held her petite body closer to him. No way was he going to let her have it her way until he got a full apology. "I can stop this torture if you want me to. There's just one thing you have to say."

Rukia growled as she tried moving again. "Why are you so frustrating?"

"Oh, and who was the one ignoring my lecture?" he glared at her, his lust-filled eyes diminishing a little bit as he tried to get an answer from her.

"I told you it would have killed us both if I had said anything!" Rukia shouted back, no longer attempting to get the organism that was so close. In fact, it was almost gone.

"What does that mean?" Ichigo snarled. When he got no response he thrust his hips upwards, earning him a yelp from Rukia as his hard member started moving within her again. "Just what was so boring about my lecture that you spaced out, huh?"

"I-Ichi-go," she moaned as she felt herself getting wetter. "Please—"

"Not until you answer me babe," he teased as he reached up with one of his hands and palm her breast through her clothes. Rukia jerked above him as he continued his torturous massage. "I could end everything for you but you need to tell me why you spaced out today." When he got no response Ichigo started rubbing harder. "Tell me Rukia. I want to know what was so boring—"

"I was thinking about you!" Ruka shouted in frustration and pleasure, although not loud enough to go beyond his office.

Ichigo's movement stopped as he looked at her red face. "Me?"

"Yes," she whimpered, saddened that his hand stopped moving, "I looked down at my desk and remembered how we had sex on top of my desk on F-Friday," she stuttered as she was started to move her body against his hand and erection now that his grip slackened. "I was getting wet just thinking about it."

Liking how she said the last part in a moan, Ichigo quickly thrust upwards to connect with her when she moved down on him. Moans came from both of them at the sensation.

"Tell me," he grunted, "What was making you most excited?"

"Mhm," she groaned as she tried to respond. "J-just looking at y-you…ah—and remem—remembering how you p-pounded into me so hard," she said the last word in a breathless sigh as she felt his fingers working on her perked nipple again.

"Rukia," Ichigo growled with a smirk, "Come for me."

Nothing really registered into Rukia's mind until Ichigo started thrusting into her harder and faster. The sensation was overwhelming as Rukia clung tightly around his shoulders. The two moaned, gasped, and sighed out each other's name. His thrust became wilder that Rukia couldn't keep up with him.

The moment Ichigo's thumb started rubbing furiously against her clit was what brought an end to this torturous pleasure.

"Ichi—!" The last syllable of his name was cut off when Ichigo quickly smashed his mouth against Rukia, silencing both their screams as they came. When Ichigo felt her orgasm enveloping his erection, he couldn't stop himself from thrusting deeply into her before coming himself, his thick cum filling up her core so much that she couldn't keep them all in and they started to slowly drip out of her.

The slow speed he moved within her before was torturous for him too, so it was obvious he couldn't last much longer after her.

Their bodies stayed still as Ichigo moved his mouth skillful against Rukia's. Neither of them said anything as they continued to battle their tongues against each other, glowing in the aftermath of their slow and fantastic sex.

After what felt like ages, Rukia finally pulled away to veer into his honey-amber eyes. They were staring right back at her with the most intense emotion she had ever felt. But what it was she wasn't quite sure yet.

"I still can't believe we just had sex in here," she glared, keeping her previous thoughts at the back of her mind.

Ichigo chuckled as he rubbed her hips, which were most likely bruised by now. "I think it was kind of kinky."

"Psch, that's what you think," she scoffed, "I was fucking scared that someone might come in any second!"

"I hope you know the situation would still be severe if someone was to come in right now," he smirked before looking down. He couldn't see his now-softened member because it was still happily embedded within her, but he did get a good image of their lower hairs mingled against one another as she remained seated on him.

Rukia looked down and blushed at what she saw. She tried to move away but Ichigo held her again. "Ichigo—"

"You move and I'll jump on you again," he threatened, "Besides, I don't feel like moving from this position just yet."

"Well you have to soon since lunch is almost over," she told him.

Ichigo glanced up at the clock and cursed at it. "Damn, five minutes isn't enough for another quickie."

Rukia sighed in annoyance. "Is that all you think about?"

"So says the girl who was getting wet during class," he retorted.

The blush reddened on Rukia's cheek as she looked away. "Your perverted-ness is just getting to me. Now I won't be able to walk down these halls without images of you jumping on me."

Ichigo smirked as he loosened his grip on Rukia's hips. Knowing it was now or never, Rukia quickly lifted herself off of Ichigo's lap. She bit her lip to stifle a gasp as she felt his softened member slipping out of her sensitive core. She noticed Ichigo reacting the same way. The moment he was out of her, she felt the greatest urge the put him back in her, but there really wasn't enough time for that…well, at least not now at school.

"Are we still meeting at Urahara's place afterschool?" she asked as she pushed herself up on her shaky legs.

"Yeah, we really need to buy some food," he answered as he tried to fix his pants, "But I'm still planning on making you scream tonight since you couldn't do it now."

Rukia just ignored his perverted comment as she leaned back against his desk to steady herself. Ichigo reached down to help pull up Rukia's panties, which were scrunched up around one of her ankles, and adjust her uniform. Once she appeared half-decent, Ichigo collected her back into his arms and pulled her to situate her on his lap again, though this time her legs stayed together as they both hung off one side of him. Ichigo chuckled thinking about how they looked like. "You know, I can't help but wonder what people might think if they were to see us."

Rukia just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I mean," he continued, "Our neighbors just think we're a horny couple—I know because Yoruichi proudly told me—and the staff here might think of me as some pedophile who just needs a 'good fuck.'" He smiled as he saw Rukia's face cringe in annoyance at how he referenced their sexual activities. It just made her feel like some whore. "And your friends might think differently about our situation too."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He leaned forward and lightly nipped on her neck. "They might think you're sleeping with teachers to get good grades."

Rukia giggled as her previous attitude was replaced with a playful one, a reaction both from his action and his words. "Well, it's not a lie."

"Oh?" he smirked, "By any chance is there any other teacher?"

Rukia pulled back to look at him. "Well, I really need to bring up my home economics class so I was planning on meeting with Nanao-sensei later."

Ichigo looked at her with a hungry gaze before letting out a deep laughter. "If it's a woman I might not mind seeing it, but—" he paused to look at her dangerously, "—If I see another man then I won't hold back from castrating him."

Rukia smiled as she pecked his lips. "Don't worry. My grades are actually good in every subject except math, though I doubt this will work on Hitsugaya-sensei."

Ichigo chuckled as he placed wet butterfly kisses all over her face.

**

* * *

END OF WARNING**

* * *

As the bell rung, signaling the end of lunch. Rukia quickly pushed herself off Ichigo's lap and straightened out her clothes again.

"Thanks for teaching me a 'lesson,' sensei," she said in the fake, annoying, sweet tone, "I'll make sure to pay attention next time."

Ichigo smirked. "Well you better unless you want me to punish you again."

Rukia smirked back as she quickly pulled away the broom and unlock the door. "I'll see you later," she whispered. Ichigo only responded with a nod as she slid the door open and stepped outside into the crowded hallway.

Rukia quickly returned to her classroom without looking suspicious, and went straight to her desk. The moment she sat down she noticed her friends quickly coming up to her.

"I'm so sorry, Rukia-chan," Momo whimpered, "I didn't want to get you into trouble—"

"No, don't worry about it," Rukia quickly comforted her friend, "I was happy to know you were so worried about my health."

"So what did Ichigo do to you?" Tatsuki asked.

Again, Rukia had to fight off a blush at the thought of what might happen if she had to tell them the truth. "Um…"

"He most likely just assigned some more homework and after class clean up duty," Hinamori stepped in

Matsumoto chuckled next to her. "But it would have been funny if he gave a _different _kind of punishment."

"What are you talking about now?" Tatsuki groaned.

"Ah, you know what I mean," Matsumoto gave her friends a suggesting wink just as the bell rung.

For the rest of school Rukia had to do everything in her power to fight off the images of what happened in Ichigo's office and just how true Matsumoto's words were. Time ticked by slowly and Rukia let out a sigh of relief the moment the bell rung, signaling the end of school. She quickly packed her stuff and followed her friends to a café in the city.

"Ah, that was a boring class," Matsumoto stretched her arms above her head as she leaned back against the cushioned seat.

"Maybe if you were actually listening you wouldn't be complaining," Hinamori said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Eh," Matsumoto leered at her smaller friend, "Are you trying to defend your fiancée's teaching ability by saying it's _my_ problem?"

A blush quickly appeared on Hinamori's cheeks. "No, I—um, well—Stop doing that Rangiku-chan!" she pouted.

Matsumoto just threw her head back and laughed out loud.

Rukia and Tatsuki chuckled as they enjoyed their drinks and slices of different cakes.

_Ring ring ring!_

Rukia quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone which was ringing off the hook.

"Who is it?" Tatsuki asked.

Rukia peered at the front of her phone and frowned. "Don't know. It's a restricted number," she told her before flipping her phone open. "Moshi moshi"

"…"

The frown deepened as no sound came from the other side. "Hello?" she tried again.

"…"

"Oi, if nobody's saying anything then just hang up," Tatsuki told her.

Rukia was about to follow her instructions when she heard something from the other side. "Hello? Who is this?"

"…_Rukia."_

It took a moment for her to recognize the voice. "…Renji?" she called out a bit hesitantly. Her three friends looked up and stared at her intently.

A deep chuckle came through the phone. "_Yeah, it's me. How are you?_"

"A bit better now that you called," Rukia smiled before frowning again, "Where the hell are you? You just transferred out of school without telling anyone and it really shocked us."

"_Ah, yeah, sorry about that,_" he said, _"I was in a hurry so I didn't have the time to see you before I left._"

"What was so important that you were in such a hurry for?" Rukia asked, "It really surprised us after the way you reacted to Kurosaki-sensei in front of the whole class." But at the mentioning of Ichigo's name there was a long pause from Renji. "Hello?" she called out, just in case the call got dropped.

"_Sorry, I'm kinda busy so I can't talk too long," _he finally answered.

"Oh, well then can you tell me where you are? The others and I really want to see you—"

"_I'll just come visit you guys later," _Renji interrupted, _"No need to come all this way."_

"But where is this 'all this way,'" she quickly inquired, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"_Che, there's nothing to hide,_" he scoffed, "_I just needed to get away from Karakura. It's not important where I am, just know I'm fine."_

Rukia looked up and shook her head at her friends who were waiting to find out where the red head had run off to. A sigh of disappointment came from them before Matsumoto reached her hand out.

"Hey Renji, Rangiku wants to talk to you so hold on a sec," Rukia told him before handing the phone over.

"Yosh, where you at, pineapple?" Matsumoto asked.

"_Sorry but can't tell_," Renji answered.

"Ah, that's no way to treat a friend," she pouted, "I thought maybe Kurosaki-sensei killed you over the weekend and only pretended like you transferred out so nobody would be suspicious."

"Nice to know your imagination is still working," Tatsuki side-commented as she took a bite of cake.

"_Please, I can take on that carrot-top any day," _Renji snickered, _"He should be the one grateful that I left before making him cry for his mommy."_

Matsumoto rolled her eyes. "Men and their egos," she mumbled before getting the phone yanked out of her grip by the petite friend sitting next to her. "Hey!"

"Hello? Renji?" Hinamori quickly asked, ignoring the pout coming from her busty friend.

"_Ah, how are you Momo?"_ Renji replied with his question.

Hinamori smiled through the phone. "Real good. How are you?"

"_I'm fine," _he answered, _"Just getting used to my new school."_

"Oh, well, where do you go now?" she asked innocently.

"_Oh no, you're not tricking me into telling you _that_ information. I know you'd ask Hitsugaya-sensei about the school then come track me down with the others."_

Hinamori pouted. "You know me too well," she sighed when the phone got ripped from her grasp as well.

"Oi, Renji," Tatsuki called out.

"_What is this, 'pass the phone in circles' game?" _Renji laughed before greeting her. _"How are you, Tatsuki?"_

"Not so good since I'm missing my partner-in-crime when it comes to beating up those perverts at school," Tatsuki snickered.

"_Ah, you could do that even without me,_" he joked, _"Besides none of those idiots are strong, unless you're getting weaker."_

"Psch, as if," she scoffed, "It's just too boring without you to back up my comments. Rukia and Momo are not into that and Rangiku here is a complete airhead when it comes to something other than fashion and men."

"Hey!" Matsumoto glared.

"It is true," Hinamori added.

The strawberry-blonde pouted as she crossed her arms under her chest. "I know, but she's saying it like it's a bad thing."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she returned to the phone. "Anyways, when are you going to come back?"

"_Don't know yet. But I'll give you guys a call as soon as I figure it out,"_ Renji said, "_Hey, can you give the phone back to Rukia?"_

"Sure," Tatsuki quickly handed the phone back to its rightful owner.

"Renji?" Rukia called out.

"_Hey, I just wanted to say 'bye' before hanging up."_

Rukia smiled. "Yeah, thanks. Anyways, call me again, okay? It's nice to hear from you again."

"_Yeah, I will,_" he replied before a long pause. "_…and Rukia?"_

"Hmm?"

"…_You doing okay at your new place?_"

Rukia frowned for a moment, trying to comprehend why he might suddenly bring that up. "Yeah, I'm doing really well."

"_Okay, that's all I needed to know. Bye."_

"Bye," Rukia replied before she heard the other line cutting off. She pealed the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a second before putting it back into her pocket.

"Man, that was kinda random of him to suddenly call us," Matsumoto said.

"But it sure was nice hearing from him again," Hinamori smiled, "I really miss him."

"Don't we all," Tatsuki smirked, "Who would have thought we'd get used that annoying hair." The girls chuckled as they as they returned to their snacks.

_Ring ring ring!_

Rukia looked down at her pocket before pulling out her phone again.

"Hm? Did Renji forget to tell us something?" Matsumoto raised a brow.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders as she answered the phone without looking at the screen. "Hello?"

"_RUKIA!"_

Okay it was _not_ Renji.

"Ic—um, yeah?" Rukia quickly corrected herself.

"_Where are you right now?" _Ichigo asked.

"At the café, why?" she frowned.

"_Quick, go home and shove all of your stuff into a bag and quickly leave the apartment!" _he shouted in a breathless tone.

Rukia' suddenly glared off to the side. "What are you saying? Are we going to have this argument again?!"

"_No you midget!_" he shouted back at her, _"The fucking principle heard that rumor about me living with another teacher or a student so he's sending several staff members to our apartment to check it out!"_

"WHAT?!" Rukia slammed her hand on the table and stood up straight, knocking her seat back. "Why now?!"

"_Like I would know?! Just hurry up and get all of your stuff. It's okay if you leave some clothes—though not your uniform—and stuffed animals since I can tell them it belongs to my sisters. But get _everything_ else that might suggest it's yours._"

Rukia groaned as she ran a shaky hand through her hair. "How much time do I have?"

There was a pause before Ichigo replied, "_I'd say less than an hour. So quickly go!"_

"Okay," she said before hanging up her phone. Without looking up, Rukia quickly grabbed her bag and made her way out.

"Rukia, what's going on?" Tatsuki asked in alarm.

"Sorry guys but I have to go," Rukia said as she pulled the seat back up, "Thanks for the meal Rangiku!" she waved before hurrying outside.

The three girls, along with the rest of the customers at the café, silently stared in confusion as a frantic Rukia disappeared down the street with inhumane speed.

* * *

A/N: Muahaha! What is going to happen to Ichigo and Rukia? Hopefully I can upload the next chapter soon so you guys don't have to wait too long.

I didn't like the lemon or the aftermath of it too much. Anyone can tell how rushed I was when I wrote this chapter. I just had a hard time making things connect together so I just wrote anything. Hopefully it wasn't that bad since I did try my best amidst of all the other things I had to do.

Again I apologize for the late update. I'm really grateful for all the reviews and hopefully they don't end! Please REVIEW!!!!

Preview for next chapter:

Friends will always back you up when you're in a dilemma...But who are they? (this might not make sense but when you read the next chapter, it will)


	19. 19 Friends

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews and support! Here's the QUICK update that I promised!!!!! Sadly, with finals only a few days away, this chapter came up REALLY short. I wanted to write more (and there is a part that seems a bit redunant since I already used a similar concept in my earlier chapter) but nothing was really coming to mind. Still, I tried my best so I hope you guys like it!!! **

**Also, I can't really promise I can upload next week. I will try, but there's a chance I might have to push off finishing the next chapter for a while since I really need to focus on my finals (SUMMER, hurry up and come!!!!!)  
**

**Ichigo is now taking several teachers/staffs to check out his apartment. Will Rukia be able to get everything out on time or will they get caught? Just read and find out!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 19: Friends

* * *

Ichigo kept checking his phone as he _slowly_ led several of his co-workers to his apartment. _Did she make it in time?_ he thought to himself.

"Kurosaki-sensei, can you walk a little faster? I have to go home soon," someone called out from behind him.

A nervous chuckle came from Ichigo as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Ha ha ha, yes, I'm sorry." He increased his speed by a notch as they turned the last corner that would lead to either his doom or his paradise (if Rukia got everything out then the stupid rumor would finally die!)

Ichigo gulped when they came in front of his apartment. "Um, here it is," he told them.

"Well let's get this over with," a second person informed him.

Ichigo nodded as he slowly made his way towards where the stairs were located.

"Kurosaki, which floor do you live in?" Uryuu suddenly asked, stopping several feet away from the staircase. And since he and Chad were standing in the front, everyone else stopped behind them.

Ichigo turned around and frowned. "Um, second floor…?"

Uryuu sighed as he pulled his glasses off and started to wipe the lenses with a beautifully embroidered handkerchief. "I'm really not wearing the right shoes to walk up the stairs."

Ichigo was silent as he continued to frown at his friend.

"Want to take the elevator then?" Chad asked.

This time Ichigo's confused expression was directed to his bigger friend.

Uryuu shook his head. "It would seem pointless to ride the elevator for merely one floor, but," he sighed as he looked down at his shoes, "I really don't want to ruin these shoes."

"Umm, excuse me Ishida-sensei, but should we really be discussing this here?" someone asked from behind them.

"They look really expensive. Are they new?" Chad asked.

"Are you two ignoring me?!" the same person shouted.

"Why yes they are! Thanks for noticing Chad," Uryuu nodded his head in appreciation, continuing to ignore the teacher who tried to interrupt their conversation.

Chad nodded back before looking at the stairs. "I really don't feel like walking either. I was forced to participate in a relay this afternoon because a student was absent in one my classes."

"Then maybe we should take the elevator," Uryuu inquired.

Chad shook his head. "I'm too big so we won't all fit in."

"Ano, excuse me?"

The two turned their head to see Orihime standing before them. "Yes?" they asked together.

"Um," the brunette frowned, "Is this really necessary? We should really go up to Kurosaki-kun's apartment and check things out."

"We know that, and at the moment we're discussing the best method of going there," Uryuu informed her.

Chad nodded in agreement. "So this is necessary."

Orihime pouted. "But it's taking too long."

"You should never rush someone when they are making an important decision," Uryuu crossed his arms in front of him and smirked, "You'll only end up losing the war a lot faster."

Her expression quickly brightened. "Ah, I see!" Orihime nodded in excitement.

"What the hell are you guys blabbering about?!"

The three all looked down to see an angry Hitsugaya glaring at them.

"I'm sorry about your shoes but I really want to get this over with. I have important business to take care of," he snapped at them as he pushed passed the three and stood in front of Ichigo. "Hurry up and lead the way," he ordered.

"Um sure," Ichigo looked at Uryuu and Chad skeptically before smirking at his shorter friend. "Do you want to take the stairs or the elevator?"

"Kurosaki!"

"Fine fine fine," Ichigo raised his arms in defeat as he turned around and went to the stairs. The others quickly followed.

As Uryuu passed by Hitsugaya, he smirked. "If my shoes get ruined from the walk, then you owe me a new pair."

"Fuck off Ishida," Hitsugaya growled as he pushed passed him again.

Ichigo sighed, not sure if his friends were really stupid—and Uryuu really gay—or was helping him out. If it was the latter, then that meant they already knew about their situation…

Which wasn't surprising since Uryuu was the one who gave Ichigo all those warning about having a relationship with a student. _Man, looks like those two bastards really knows something_, Ichigo grunted at the thought.

They finally reached the second floor and made their way down to Ichigo's apartment. The orange head stopped abruptly in front of his door when his phone suddenly rang. He quickly flipped it open and read the message on the screen.

_We're good._

Ichigo smirked as he quickly pulled out his key and opened the door. "Here we go," he announced as he stepped aside for the others to go through. Uryuu and Chad walked by him first, both giving him a skeptic look, before being followed in by the others. Ichigo followed after them and closed the door. "So, is there anything specific you need to check out?"

Several people looked around the kitchen and some were checking out the items in the living room.

"Ano, where's your room, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

"Oh, it's this way," Ichigo led the way before opening one of the doors. "This is mine and the other one—" he pointed to the closed door across the hall from his, "—is the guest room."

Somebody quickly entered the guest room and looked around while Orihime entered Ichigo's room along with Uryuu, Chad and Hitsugaya.

"Hmm," Chad looked around, "Nothing seems suspicious."

"I agree," Hitsugaya nodded, obviously not interested in rummaging through someone else's room.

Orihime just giggled as a blush appeared on her cheeks. "Still, I can't believe I'm actually in Kurosaki-kun's bedroom. This is the first time."

Ichigo just smiled awkwardly at her.

"Ahem, Kurosaki-sensei."

Ichigo turned around to confront a greasy looking man with a balding head looking at him through a pair of thick, bug-eye like glasses. "Yes, Nakamura-sensei?"

"What is this?" he lightly coughed as he held up a pair of Chappy underwear between his fat fingers. The other teachers quickly looked over and gasped. They huddled together and started whispering among themselves.

Already prepared, Ichigo groaned as if annoyed. "Sensei, I know it's your job to search for anything suspicious, but I would really appreciate it if you didn't go through my sister's stuff."

"Sister?" they all questioned in unison as they looked at him.

Ichigo nodded. "I have two sisters—twins—and they like to visit me once in a while. They use the guest room when they're over here. Maybe somebody mistook them as a student or a teacher from our school when they were visiting."

The other staff members looked at each other before frowning.

"A-are you serious?"

Ichigo nodded.

Hitsugaya sighed as he quickly exited Ichigo's room. "This whole trip was pointless. Why couldn't you have just informed us of your sisters beforehand?" he glared.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Because I knew none of you guys would have believed me until you checked it out for yourselves. So I was just patient. And I should be the one who's pissed off, not you," he quickly glared back.

"Whatever," Hitsugaya shrugged as he continued to the front door, "If there's nothing else to check then I'd rather get going now. There's no need to stay here any longer." He was quickly greeted with agreements as others quickly followed him.

"Nakamura-sensei?" Ichigo called out.

"Yes?" the said teacher turned around to see Ichigo's outstretched hand in front of him.

Ichigo smirked. "I would appreciate it if you would give me back my sister's underwear."

Everyone who heard him quickly looked down to see the said panties stuffed inside the wrinkled pants pocket of the older teacher who was now laughing nervously. "Ah ha, sorry. Old habit," he kept laughing as he handed Ichigo the underwear.

Ichigo only smiled back, more in relief that they were leaving, as one by one his co-workers disappeared through the open door.

Hitsugaya, who was holding the door opened, was about to leave when he looked back inside. "Are you guys coming?" he asked Uryuu and Chad who were still inside the apartment.

"Just go on without us," Uryuu replied, "I needed to talk to Kurosaki about something anyways."

The shorter teacher just shrugged his shoulders as he closed the door. Orihime, who was standing next to him, waved at the three men just before the door shut.

As soon as they were gone, Ichigo let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank god that's over."

"Good thing you were able to make up that 'sister' thing quickly," Uryuu sighed as he pushed his glasses up.

Ichigo just stared at him before shaking his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." His two friends just stared back at him and Ichigo glared off to the side. It was likely those two already figured him out, but it was best to keep it low just in case.

"We should get going," Chad suddenly suggested.

"Yes, I agree," Uryuu nodded as they walked over to their shoes. They quickly slipped it on and opened the door. "Oh and Kurosaki," he stopped midway and looked back, "You still owe me."

"Hmm?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow but couldn't say anything else as his two friends quickly left his apartment. "What the fuck was that?" he muttered to himself before pulling out his cell phone. He quickly dialed a number and waited for the other end to pick it up.

"_Hello?"_ she answered.

"They're gone," Ichigo said before he heard the call getting cut off. He stared at his phone for a few seconds before glaring. "You could've said 'bye.'" In less than a minute he turned around when he heard the front door being opened abruptly. "Oi," he greeted Rukia who was standing in the threshold with several stuffed bags behind her.

"Are they really gone?" Rukia breathlessly asked, obviously having ran up the stairs once she got the call.

"Yeah," he smiled as he walked over to help her carry in her stuff, "Where were you hiding?"

Rukia groaned as she stepped inside. "I was just outside the building, hiding in the bushes that are by the front door."

Ichigo smirked. "Man, so we almost got caught, huh?"

"Yeah, it would have been problematic if Ishida-sensei and Yatsuro-sensei hadn't stalled them," Rukia let out an exasperated sigh.

Ichigo paused when he looked over. "Wait a second, you heard all that?"

Rukia nodded her head. "I was coming down the stairs when I heard Ishida-sensei talking about his new shoes."

"Man, we were _really _close," Ichigo scratched his head. "Guess I really do owe those guys something now."

Rukia smiled as she quickly opened one of the garbage bags to pull out her shoes. "I wonder what might have happened if we weren't fast enough."

"Don't even bring that up," Ichigo expression turned sour at the thought as he pulled out some of her belongings including her school supplies and several pictures. "I was lucky to use my sisters as an excuse again for some of your stuffs here, but we should still try and be careful. Oh, that reminds me…" he paused to pull something out of his pocket and handed it over to Rukia. "Here. Nakamura-sensei tried to take it."

Rukia glared at the offending item he was holding. "Burn it," she growled.

Ichigo smirked as he quickly threw it into the nearest trash bin. "Good thing it wasn't one of my favorite ones."

Rukia only rolled her eyes as she continued organizing her stuff. "Why am I surrounded by so many idiots," she groaned as stood up to put away some of her Chappy plates.

Ichigo chuckled as he stood up to follow her to put away some of her girly magazine. "But your life would be boring without me hanging around."

"Please, you're the source of all my problems," she groaned as she tried to go back to the living room when suddenly Ichigo wrapped an arm around her waist and stopped her. "What?"

Ichigo smirked as he pulled her closer to him. "But would you have wanted things to go differently?"

Rukia glared at him before looking away. She mumbled some incoherent words to the side, barely above a whisper.

"What?" he asked as he used his other hand to pull her chin towards him.

"I said 'you're an idiot,'" she muttered, "You're an idiot if you don't already know the answer to that question."

The smirk just widened. "I knew you'd be helpless without me."

"Shut up."

Ichigo leaned down and placed his lips over Rukia's dainty ones, smiling through the kiss as he caressed her sides. A small moan came from the back of her throat as Ichigo tilted his head to the side to deepen it and—

"Oi, we forgot—"

A total of four people froze in everything that they were doing at the sudden unexpected situation that just came in front of them.

Ichigo and Rukia pulled away to stare out the door where Uryuu and Chad were staring at them with wide eyes.

"K-Ku-Kuchi—" Uryuu stuttered as he kept staring at the two people who were still wrapped around each other. It took a good few seconds before he could regain his sanity. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Ichigo quickly pulled Rukia behind him as tried to reason with his friends. "G-guys, i-it's not what you, um what you might think it is—"

"Oh, I think it's obvious what _this_ is," Uryuu spat back.

"Well you see—"

"Ichigo, we pretty much saw everything," Chad interrupted.

Ichigo looked between the red-faced Uryuu and the slightly calmer Chad back and forth several times before dropping his head in defeat. "Fine, you won."

Uryuu and Chad quickly stepped into the apartment and looked around the living room. Several bags, which weren't there several minutes ago, were opened with several feminine items spewed throughout the apartment.

"Kurosaki," Uryuu growled as he glared at his friend.

Ichigo sighed as he turned back to Rukia. "Hey, can you step outside for a moment?"

"Huh?" she looked up at him like he was crazy, "Why?"

"Just for a few minutes," he smiled reassuringly, "Why don't you go to Urahara's and buy some of the stuff we were planning on buying today? I'll come get you once I have this all cleaned up."

Rukia was about to retort when she heard coughing from Uryuu. She looked at Ichigo before pouting. "Okay," she quietly muttered. She turned to bow to her other teachers before quickly running past them and going outside.

Once the front door closed shut the screaming began.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Uryuu yelled again.

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo yelled back, "You're annoying me with that high-pitched voice of yours."

"I don't think now is the time to be talking about shit like that, Kurosaki," Uryuu snarled, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

Ichigo stared at his friend before scratching his head. "I thought you figured it out."

Uryuu sighed, trying to control his breathing. "Yes, I knew about it but I—for god's sake Kurosaki, _Kuchiki_?!" he stared at his friend in utter disbelief.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You're making it sound like I fucked the princess or something."

"No but damn close to one!" Uryuu shouted. "What happens when someone checks the student information and finds that your address is the same as Kuchiki's?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Ichigo said, "Rukia's address is written under the landlady's address."

"Yoruichi-san's?" Chad asked.

Ichigo nodded. "She already knows of our situation. Heck, she and Urahara were the ones who actually pushed for our relationship even though they already knew she's my student."

"Wait a second, those two perverts actually played a part in this?" Uryuu eyebrows furrowed in complete rage, "Do they not know what this would imply if the authorities find out about this?!"

"That's why I need you guys to keep quiet about this," Ichigo said.

"How can I possibly stay quiet about this?!" Uryuu shouted.

"Calm down," Chad said, "Let's not talk about that now. What's more important is what we're going to do from here on out."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. _Since when did Chad talk this much? _"Look, this is really serious so I would appreciate it if you guys can keep this to yourselves. Only until she graduates."

A different colored brow went up. "'Serious'? Just how serious are you about this relationship of yours?" Uryuu asked skeptically. "For all I know you might be screwing her just for fun and that girl could be trying to get good grades from you—" his words got abruptly cut off when Ichigo grabbed his front collar and fiercely pulled him forward to come face-to-face with an angry orange head.

"Don't talk shit like that about Ruka," Ichigo threatened through his gritted teeth.

Uryuu just stared at the rage shooting out from his friend's eyes. "Or what?" he asked, trying Ichigo's patients.

Ichigo brought up his other fist, ready to collide it against Uryuu's nose when Chad quickly came forward and grabbed his wrist. "Ichigo, stop," the giant ordered.

Ichigo stood in that position for a while, his muscles still tense before slowly calming himself down. He released his grip on Uryuu's shit. "Sorry," he quietly muttered.

"Whatever," Uryuu rolled his eyes as he straightened out his clothes, "I'm already used to your pathetic threats so it doesn't bother me."

Ichigo remained quiet before he looked over to the front door that Rukia went through only a few minutes ago. "I'm serious," he suddenly said.

Uryuu frowned at him before realizing what Ichigo was implying.

"How much?" Chad asked this time.

A smile appeared on Ichigo's face as he looked at his two friends in all seriousness. "I want a future with her."

Uryuu and Chad looked at Ichigo with disbelief. After a few seconds, Uryuu pushed up his glasses and smirked. "Looks like Kurosaki Ichigo has finally given his heart to someone."

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, I think I did."

The three friends looked at each other as the apartment got filled with their happy and amused laughter. They never noticed the shadow of a fourth person standing outside that had been listening to everything that they were saying through the small opening of the window.

Inoue Orihime tightly gripped her mouth shut to stop her screams as tears started pouring out of her eyes. The laughter from inside almost felt like it was mocking her.

* * *

A/N: Sad ending, I know. But I thought it was finally time to give her some closure. But what will Orihime do with this new, heartbreaking, news?....well, I'm not really sure yet either *sweatdrop* But hey, at least Ichigo finally confessed what he really feels for Rukia! *CHEER!*

I know that part with the teacher finding Rukia's panties was similar to the chapter when Renji found her bra...Why did I recycle this plotline? Well, I thought it was funny. Also, there needs to be a short moment when it seems like the protagonist is going to lose, but then he gets back up and saves himself just in time. And I serious don't believe anyone can pack up all of their belongings in less than an hour. So Rukia left some stuff (that can't be traced back to her) in her room since she knew Ichigo would make some sort of excuse for it. Hope this clears up some stuff.

Also, many of you guys were asking if Renji was the one who slipped it to the principal about Ichigo living with a woman. And I will say this upright: NO, he did not. I tried to present this in the beginning by saying the rumor (which never really stopped since it first started) was just being whispered around by students and the principle heard it. But this might not have caught everyone so I'm explaining it now. Why did I not make Renji do this? To save him from all the criticism? NOPE! I did it because....... well, you'll see in a few more chapters, MUHAHA!

Again, thanks for all the reviews. I can't believe how much support I'm getting for this story. Please continue to read and don't forget to review!!!!

Preview for next chapter:

Christmas at the Kurosaki's. Isshin is back!!!! HAHAHA


	20. 20 Christmas

**Author's Note: I'M BACK!!!! Thanks for all the reviews and 'good lucks' you guys! They really pulled me through. And now that my finals are over I can focus more on this story! Which means no more late updates!!!!! (Hopefully...)**

**This is the Christmas special I promised last time. And Isshin-the love of my life-is back to make Ichigo's life a living hell! lol I worked on this pretty quickly so I could upload this tonight. That means there are a lot more grammatical/spelling errors than there ususally are and in the middle I seemed to have written some descriptive parts awkwardly...but I'm too lazy to go back and fix them. Hope you guys don't mind.**

**Just read and have fun!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 20: Christmas

* * *

Rukia wiggled in her seat as she tried to get more comfortable. But no matter what she did, her ass felt like it was melting. "Arugh, how much longer?" she whined.

"We're almost there," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Can't you stay still?"

Rukia quickly glared at him. "I can't believe _you're_ not affected by this! We've been sitting here for three hours!"

"It wouldn't hurt as much if you just stay still," Ichigo snapped back at her, "Stop whining and just relax. We're about to pull into the station."

At the mentioning of the station, Rukia looked out the window to see the station several meters away. They two have been sitting in the train for more than three hours, going from Karakura to Tokyo to join the rest of the Kurosaki family for a small Christmas get-together.

"_Last stop: Tokyo,_" a voice said through the intercom.

"Alright, we're here," Ichigo stretched his legs in front of him before standing up from his seat.

"Finally," Rukia snorted as she jumped up. She stretched her arms above her head and tried to get some feeling back into her stiff body.

Ichigo smirked as he watched her trying to stretch her legs. "Feeling better yet?"

"No," she groaned, "I still can't feel my butt." Without warning, Ichigo leaned forward and grabbed her ass, groping it tightly. "Ichigo!" Rukia gasped as she slapped his hand away. "What are you doing?! Someone might see!"

Ichigo chuckled as he leaned closer to her, trapping her against the window of the train before bending down next to her ear. "Nobody's watching," he told her as he grabbed her ass again.

Rukia's eyes closed when she felt him groping her again, but this time more gently. A moan was about to come out but she stopped herself by biting her lip. In the end a small whimper came from the back of her throat as she tried to push him away. "Ichigo," her body trembled when his breath fanned over her neck, "We need to get off the train."

A smirk appeared Ichigo's lips as he pulled away. "Fine, let's go," he replied as he reached over to grab their luggage from the shelf above them. But Rukia remained where she was, trying to catch her breath. She looked around and noticed that most of the people were already off the train or too busy getting ready to get off to have noticed them.

"Coming?"

Rukia looked up to a smiling Ichigo in front of her with a hand held out. Rukia smiled back as she placed her hand in his and followed him off the train.

The two stepped off the train and looked around.

"So, are we getting picked up?" Rukia asked.

"Nope," Ichigo shook his head, "My old man was suppose to but he had an emergency meeting this morning so won't be able to make it. So we're just going to ride a taxi."

Hand-in-hand the two walked out of the station and made it out to the streets where Ichigo called for a taxi. Rukia couldn't stop her huge grin at the thought of holding his hand in public. They were hours away from Karakura and nobody would recognize them if they walked around with intertwined fingers and acting like lovers. It was refreshing.

The snow was falling gently above them, making people huddle together to get warm as possible. And it was giving Ichigo the excuse to cuddle next to her real close. Ever since the incident with the school, they've been real careful not to be seen together outside. So even at school they wouldn't to meet up anymore (which bothered Ichigo since that meant no more sex in middle of school). But that also meant Ichigo was more affectionate when they were alone together at home.

He'd barely let her out of his embrace and that was just fine with Rukia. It was nice to have someone to cuddle next to during the snowy season.

A car finally pulled up in front of them and Ichigo helped Rukia inside before getting inside himself. He told the taxi driver the address and the two were finally on their way to the Kurosaki residence.

"It's been almost five years since I last visited here," she suddenly said as she kept her eyes out into the cold streets of Tokyo. "One year after the last time I visited, I left home and ran to Karakura."

Ichigo stared at her nonchalant expression with a frown. "You're saying it like it's no big deal."

"Because it isn't," she shrugged.

Ichigo silently stared at her before reaching over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I'm always here, you know."

Rukia looked up at him in surprise, before smiling. "I know." She leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder as his arm tightened to hold her closer to him. The two silently sat still as the taxi continued driving through the snowed Tokyo. Her eyes began to droop down after watching the snow falling gently like sakura petals in the cool breeze.

It was mesmerizing.

_Flashback_

_Rukia sighed as she got up from bed. She looked over to see Ichigo snoring away on his stomach, too tired to be woken by her sudden movement. Unlike the bastard who jumped on her only a few hours ago, Rukia didn't feel tired at all. In fact, she was still nervous._

_No matter how many times Ichigo comforted her, her heart would beat erratically whenever she thought back to what happened with Ishida-sensei and Yatsuro-sensei only a month ago. Even if they were good friends with Ichigo, there's no way they'd defend them if they suddenly get caught. Another sigh came from her at the thought._

_Quickly slipping on Ichigo's button-up shirt and his boxers, Rukia quietly stepped out of their bedroom. Closing the door, she made her way to the living room and dumped her body onto the couch. It was late in the evening which meant there was nothing good on TV. So instead she reached over and pulled out one of the books Ichigo had recommended to her._

It's not too bad_, she thought to herself as she read through the beginning of the story._

Ring ring ring!

_Rukia was suddenly pulled out from her book when her phone rang. She quickly reached over and pulled the phone off its receiver. "Hello?" she answered._

"Rukia-chan!_"_

_She knew right away who it was. "Ah, Kurosaki-san. How are you?" she greeted._

"Eh, what's with all the formalities?_" Isshin whined, "_Just call me daddy!"

"_I'd prefer not to," she quickly retorted._

"Well, what are you and Ichigo planning to do on Christmas?_" he quickly asked._

_Rukia frowned as she looked back to peer at the calendar. "That's more than a month away."_

"It's never too early to plan a special family get-together_," he replied, practically grinning through the phone._

_Rukia smiled. "Well, I'm not quite sure yet. I'm still waiting to see if my family has anything planned."_

"Well, if things don't go well, then why don't you come over here and spend it with us? The girls and I are missing you like crazy. Oh! And you can bring that idiot son of mine with you,_" he quickly added. _"I'm planning on a big Christmas party to topple over the one I did last year_."_

"_A Christmas party?" Rukia asked only to clarify it to herself. "I'm not sure… I'll ask Ichigo and give you a call tomorrow."_

"Excellent!_" he quickly replied. "_If you need something better to convince him with, just tell him if he doesn't come then I'm going to show up at your place with all of his baby pictures. Even the ones with him running across the street, naked, when he was 5_!"_

_Rukia couldn't stop the small laugh that came out of her. "I'll try my best to persuade him," she said, "But either way I still want to see those pictures."_

"I'll tell you the entire story, Rukia-chan!_" Isshin replied. "_Well, talk to you tomorrow!"_ She could perfectly picture his goofy smile._

"_Yes, I'll call tomorrow," she responded, "Goodbye." Rukia closed her cell phone shut and stared at it silently for a few seconds. The smile that Isshin had plastered on her face was slowly dissipating the more she thought about Christmas and what it might entail._

_Should she call niisama and ask him if he had any plans?_

_And if he did, should she attend or bail out?_

_Would he even care? _

_A sigh came from her lips as she scrolled down the contact list in her phone with some reluctance. After finding his number, Rukia stared at her brother's number for sometime as a battle ensued in her mind: to call or not to call?_

_With a disgruntle groan, Rukia pressed on the 'call' button and placed the phone over her ear. She remained quiet as it kept ringing, silently hoping nobody would pick up._

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri—"_Yes_," a deep voiced answered._

"_Ni-nisama, it's me, R-Rukia," she stuttered._

"I am aware of that,"_ he coldly replied, "_Why did you call?"

_Rukia quickly gulped to get rid of the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "Well, I was wondering if, um, well…"  
_

"It is not lady-like to stutter like this,_" he suddenly interjected._

_The lump was back. "Hai, I-I understand," she squeaked. But there was only silence afterwards as Rukia sat, rock stiff, on the couch mind completely blank._

"Rukia," _he suddenly called out._

"_Yes?" she answered._

"What was it you needed to ask me?" _he asked with a tinge of impatience._

_Rukia's face flushed. "Yes, well, I just, um—I just wanted to know if you had any plans for the holiday."_

"…There's still more than a month left before Christmas," _he responded. _

"_Yes, but I—," Rukia paused as she tried to think of an excuse, "I believe it's never too late to plan ahead," she quickly added, partially using Isshin's excuse from only a few minutes ago. She waited patiently while there was a pause from the other side._

"…Good enough," _Byakuya finally answered, "_I have an important meeting in the States so I won't be here. Is there anything you need?"

"_No," she quickly replied, trying to hide her obvious excitement, "I just wanted to make sure."_

"Very well. If that is all then I must hang up now. Goodbye, Rukia," _he said._

_Though she knew he wouldn't see it, Rukia nodded her head. "Yes, thank you. Goodbye, niisama," she responded just before she heard him hang up the call. The smile on Rukia's face faltered a bit as she pulled her phone away, but the thought of spending Christmas with Ichigo and his family brought it back full force._

"_Rukia?"_

_The said woman looked up to see a disgruntle Ichigo frowning at her. "Yeah? When did you wake up?"_

"_Just now," he yawned, "I didn't like the fact you weren't there when I woke up so I quickly came over to look for you."_

_Rukia smiled as she stood up and walked over to give him a small kiss on the lips. "Well, I'm fine so let's go back to sleep."_

_Ichigo nodded as he grabbed her hand and quickly led her back to their bedroom. As soon as they got under the covers, he reached over and pulled her body next to his, making sure to have a tighter grip on her so she wouldn't escape this time. "By the way," he suddenly spoke up, "Who were you talking to on the phone?"_

_The smile widened on Rukia's face as she shoved it against his chest. "Nobody really."_

_Feeling too tired to interrogate, Ichigo just nodded as he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him again. But just as he was about to be taken to dreamland, the woman in his arm suddenly moved._

"_By the way," Rukia looked up and smirked as Ichigo's eyebrows scrunched closer even more, "We're going to your father's for Christmas."_

_Ichigo's eyes immediately opened wide as he stared down at Rukia's smirking face. "WHAT?!"_

_End of Flashback_

"Oi, Rukia, wake up."

The raven head groaned as she forced her eyes open. "What?" she mumbled.

Ichigo smiled as he gently nudged her off his shoulder. "We're here," he responded before stepping out of the taxi.

Rukia sat up straight and glanced out the fogged window. The car had stopped and it was parked right in front of a small family clinic in a quiet neighborhood. Finally processing in her head where she was, Rukia groaned as she pulled the door open on her side of the car and stepped out. Once outside, she turned around to see Ichigo pulling their luggage from the trunk. "Need help?" she offered.

"Nah," he shook his head as he pulled out their last bag before slamming the trunk shut. He walked over to the driver's side and passed him a few yens through the window. Once paid, the driver quickly took off, leaving to couple alone in the snow. He sighed as he grabbed their bags and led the way to the front door. "Let's just get this over with."

Rukia smiled as she quietly followed him.

Once they reached the front door, Ichigo held their bags tighter as he tensed, not daring to move a finger.

"Ichigo?" Rukia frowned at him, "What are you doing? Ring the doorbell already."

But he quickly shook his head. "No, I know what's going to happen as soon as I do," he said, confusing Rukia even more. He didn't clarify what he meant as he quickly pulled her behind him as he stepped off to the side. Once they were situated several steps away from the door, Ichigo reached over and cautiously pressed the doorbell.

Rukia would have smacked him for looking stupid if she hadn't witnessed what happened right after he pressed the bell.

_Ding dong._

"ICHIGOOO!" A body shot out of the door like a bullet, but it connected with nothing so it quickly flew past them and straight into the snow in the streets.

"Let's go," he quickly ushered her into the house and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Who was that?" she gasped.

"Who else? My old man," Ichigo scowled.

"Oniichan! Rukia-neesan!" The two people looked up just in time to see Yuzu running up to them and throwing her arms around them for a big hug. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

Rukia smiled as she hugged her back. "Thanks for having us."

"Yeah, kiddo," Ichigo smirked as Yuzu pulled away, "Besides, I've been dying to try some of your food. The midget here is still horrible when it comes to cooking."

Rukia quickly turned to glare at the man but he quickly stepped out of the threshold and into the house.

"Where's Karin?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm right here," Karin called out from her spot on the couch. She turned around and smiled at the guests. "I'm just watching some indoor soccer."

"Who's playing?" Ichigo asked as he quickly joined his other sister on the couch.

Rukia rolled her eyes as she followed Yuzu into the kitchen. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Oh, I'm trying a Western dinner tonight," she proudly announced, "The turkey is cooking in the oven and I have almost everything else ready."

"Is there anything I can help with?" Rukia asked as she looked around the kitchen.

"No, you're the guest!" Yuzu gasped as if she just asked an impossible request, "Please go and rest in the living room. You must be tired." Rukia was about to retort but was quickly pushed out of the kitchen.

"Just listen to her, Rukia," Karin called out from the couch as soon as Rukia came into view, "Yuzu cooks for the sake of cooking and will be stressed if she doesn't do it all by herself."

Rukia nodded as she went over to sit on the couch. Ichigo scooted over as she sat down in between the siblings with one of his arms thrown behind her. "So what's going on?" Rukia asked as she looked at the game.

Ichigo shook his head. "Nothing much. Both teams suck as hell."

"Not to mention they have no sense of how to kick the damn ball," Karin growled in annoyance.

Rukia nodded as she watched the game when something struck her. "Kurosaki-san!" she gasped as she turned back to see the door still closed.

"Don't worry about him," Ichigo shrugged nonchalantly as he continued watching the game, "He's just an idiot."

"But he might freeze to death!" Rukia gapped at him.

"No he won't," Karin stepped in, "This cold weather is not enough to kill that old goat. You'll need to do much worse then that. He'll come back in a few seconds."

And true enough the door swung open and Isshin came flying in. "ICHIGO!" he screamed again as he stretched his leg out to kick his son from behind. But Ichigo just leaned forward and Isshin's body went flying past him and straight into the wall.

Nobody but Rukia gasped.

"Well done, my son," Isshin groaned as he slumped to the ground.

"Will you ever learn?" Karin sighed.

---

"Merry Christmas!" five glasses clinked together as they toasted to the holidays in the living room of the Kurosaki clinic.

Rukia sipped her soda as Ichigo and Isshin took a swig of beer. "That was a fabulous dinner, Yuzu," she grinned at the young girl.

Yuzu blushed. "A-arigato!"

Ichigo ruffled her hair. "Yeah, it was really good. It wouldn't be bad if the midget learned a thing or two from you."

"Let's see if I cook for you anymore after this," Rukia glared at him.

Isshin laughed out loud. "Don't mess with your woman's food or else you might find screws in your rice one day," he looked at Ichigo who only rolled his eyes as he took another swing of his beer.

Karin smirked as she looked at her brother's girlfriend. "So how are things with you, Rukia?"

"Good," she nodded, "Except for your brother being an idiot." She promptly ignored the glare she was getting from the orange head sitting next to her.

"Haha," Isshin continued laughing, "Just tell me when you need Ichigo smacked around, Rukia-chan. Daddy will give a good spanking."

"Shut up old man," Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"Whatever," Karin sighed as she reached under the tree in the living room to grab several boxes. "Anyways, here's my gift to you guys."

Isshin and Yuzu quickly followed her example as they brought out their presents. Ichigo, who had already placed the presents he and Rukia bought them under the tree before dinner, also brought them out and handed them out.

Rukia was very surprised when each of Ichigo's family gave her a present. "Um, you really didn't have to do this," she said.

"Nonsense!" Isshin cried out, "You deserve only the best especially since you're living with this clueless son of mine."

Ichigo fought back the urge to punch him by quickly ripping open one present. He stared at the DVD set of Al Pacino movies and a new hardcover book for his collection before looking back up with a smile. "Thanks a lot you two."

His sisters smiled back as they opened their presents.

Rukia smiled at his gifts before proceeding to open her presents. She was shocked to see a Chappy mini-lamp staring up at her. She squealed before hugging Yuzu tightly. "Thank you! I've been wanting to get this for awhile now."

"I'm glad you like it, Rukia-neesan," Yuzu smiled widely as she returned the hug.

Karin rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you two like that bunny."

"Trust me, 'like' doesn't even come close," Ichigo shook his head, "She tried posting up that creepy rabbit poster all over our apartment when we first moved in together."

"What did you say about Chappy?" the two girls glared at the orange head with great intensity.

Ichigo gulped as he looked away. "Nothing."

"I thought so," Rukia huffed as she opened her second present. This time she was shocked to see a gift card to a Chappy's store. She smiled as she looked at Karin. "Thanks for the present."

Karin grinned back as she winked.

"Now that you finished opening their presents, open mine!" Isshin squealed out loud as he handed Rukia a small box. "It's actually a small gift for _both _of you."

Rukia smiled awkwardly as she received the gift and started to rip open the gift wrap. Very carefully Rukia lifted the cover of the box and peeked in. Ichigo, who was sitting next to her, leaned over to peek in as well but neither of them could see what was inside.

"It's something I got to help you in the bedroom," Isshin winked.

An uneasy feeling came across Ichigo as he yanked the box out of Rukia's grip and ripped open the box. As soon as he saw the vibrator inside the box, Ichigo crushed the box and threw it across the room. "We don't need this kind of shit!" he yelled.

"NO!" Isshin cried as he jumped up and caught the box before it could break through the window. "It took me forever to get this thing 50% off!"

Ichigo blushed bright red as he looked away. Rukia was also blushing real hard as she sat frozen on the couch.

Karin looked over and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Rukia, he's always like that."

"So that's what he was so excited about," Yuzu sighed, "He bought that over a month ago."

"Exactly, so appreciate what I got you!" Isshin cried as he threw the crushed box back at Ichigo.

"I said we don't need it!" Ichigo caught the box and threw it back at his father. The two men continued throwing the box back and forth while cursing at each other at the same time.

Karin growled as a vein popped out on her forehead. She got up and grabbed the thrown box before shoving it into the garbage. "There! That takes care of that!"

"NOOOOO!" Isshin cried as he tried to retrieve his present but was abruptly stopped when Ichigo swung a right hook at his father, knocking him down.

"Don't get up from there if you value your life," Ichigo threatened.

Yuzu sighed as she started to clear up the living room of discarded boxes and gift wraps. "Why don't we have some cake?" she offered.

"Sounds good," Karin said, "It might help Rukia get out of her daze."

"Huh?" the said woman looked up at the twins, "Did you say something?"

Karin stood up and helped her sister clear up the living room. "Do you want some cake?" she asked.

Rukia blinked at her several times before smiling. "That sounds great."

"Okay, wait here," Yuzu told them as she went to the kitchen to grab some dessert.

Ichigo, after knocking his father out completely on the floor, joined Rukia back on the couch and groaned. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "That's okay. I guess I should have expected something like this to happen."

Ichigo sighed as he rubbed his face. "Still, that was hella embarrassing. Not to mention unnecessary."

"You mean your father's actions or the gift?" Rukia grinned.

Ichigo smirked as he leaned over and whispered to her. "Trust me: there's absolutely no need for anything like that. I know I'm good enough for you."

"You sure?" she raised a brow at him while keeping her smirk.

"I can prove it to you if you like," he said as he snuck an arm around her waist.

"Stop that," Karin glared as she returned to her seat across from them. "Do that later back at your place."

"Sorry," Rukia laughed as she pushed Ichigo away from her.

"I'm not," Ichigo muttered.

"Here we go!" Yuzu came back with plates of sliced cake. She quickly handed them out to each person along with a fork and sat down next to her sister. "So what have you two been up to?" she asked Rukia and Ichigo.

The brother shrugged his shoulder as he took a bite of the cake. "My school held a festival a few months ago and it was a big success."

"What was your theme?"

"It was a maid café," Rukia said.

"Oh, did you go to the festival, Rukia-neesan?" Yuzu asked.

"Huh?" Rukia looked at her confused for a second before remembering her 'role' in the relationship. "O—Oh, yes! Yes I decided to visit Ichigo at his school." The said man exhaled silently off to one side when Rukia quickly caught herself.

"So what's his school like?" Karin asked.

"Um, well, it's pretty big. And he seems to be pretty popular among the students," Rukia said.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, only because I'm one of the most lax teachers there are at school," he said, earning him a laugh from Rukia.

"Then how are things at your college, Rukia-neesan?" Yuzu asked.

Rukia took a moment to think before smiling back at the younger woman. "Not bad. But I do have some _professors _who are assigning way too much homework. I can barely finish them all."

"Psch, then maybe you should try and actually do your work," Ichigo scoffed, "I can't sleep when you have the lights on all night because you're behind on your work."

"Maybe I'd be able to finish things a lot quicker if _somebody_ could help around the house," Rukia growled at him.

Ichigo growled back. "Hey, you're the one who lost that bet fair and square. Besides, you keep throwing me out of the kitchen whenever I try to help you."

"That's because you have a tendency to put way too much salt in the soup," Rukia huffed, "And you tend to break things when you use the vacuum cleaner."

"That was only once!" he retorted.

"Hahaha! Is my son really that much of a bother!" Isshin laughed as he jumped back up on his feet, his face swollen from Ichigo's punches, "Rukia-chan, allow daddy to beat him up! I'll show him how to treat a girl properly!"

"Shut up," Ichigo kicked him to the wall before heading towards the stair.

"Where are you going, Ichi-nii?" Karin called out.

"To bed," he responded, "You guys wore me out with your insanity." He waved back as he ascended the stairs. As soon as he entered the room, he closed the door and dropped himself on his bed, not bothering to even turn on the lights.

He sighed as nuzzled into his pillow. _It's good to be back here…_he suddenly frowned, _But it's _not_ good to be here with that old man again._ He rolled over onto his back and placed his arms behind his head. He stared out the window and silently watched at the snow fell outside, illuminated by the moon in the night sky.

As his mind started to wander, sleep started to take over him. He didn't know how long he's been lying there but he assumed it must have been over an hour or two when Rukia suddenly came in. At the sound of the door creaking open, the orange head woke up to see his lover entering the room wearing a bathrobe with her hair all wet. "Did you take a shower?" he asked voice a little hoarse.

Rukia looked up and nodded. "You left us for so long that we decided to call it a day." She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "You okay?"

"Ah," he replied as he scooted over to accommodate for her. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Your dad just kept talking about how incompetent you are in the bedroom," she smirked, "And he kept crying in front of your mother's poster whenever Karin hit him."

Ichigo groaned. "That bastard really needs to check into a mental facility."

Rukia smiled as she leaned over him, placing one arm next to his pillow, encasing him underneath her. "Hey," she started as she leaned forward, "You forgot to give me my Christmas present."

Ichigo raised a brow at her as if in amusement. "Well, you forgot to give me mine too."

"Don't worry, I have it," she told him before leaning down to brush her nose against his, "But I want mine first."

Ichigo smiled as his arms reached out to bring her body closer to his. "I have something, but it's not something you can wrap."

Rukia pulled away to frown at Ichigo. "Why?" she asked before something dawned at her. She gapped at him before glaring. "Did you forget to buy me my present? And is that suppose to be your excuse?!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he brought her back to him. "Stop being so bitchy and just hear me out."

But Rukia continued to glare daggers into him, this time silently. A sigh came from him as he knew nothing will get through her until he gave her his 'present.' He's been preparing this specific 'present' for weeks and he was going to make it perfect, just like her. Ichigo placed a hand at the base of her neck to keep her steady as his thumb gently caressed her skin. The two stared deeply into each other's eyes as walls were broken down and their entire being was exposed to one another.

"I love you."

Rukia's eyes widened and she blinked several times.

Did he just… Was that a… Did he really…?

Her lips parted as her jaw fell down. Her heart was beating with the intensity of a rocket ship and her breathing just increased as his words _slowly_ sunk into her head…and her heart.

A knowing smile broke on Ichigo's face as he gently brought her down to lightly press his lips against hers. He knew she was having a hard time with his sudden confession, but he had hoped his kiss would be enough to pour out all his feelings to her.

She got the message.

Rukia soon started to respond to his kiss and it slowly became more passionate as they expressed their feelings for each other through it. Time stood still as the two young lovers shared this one moment, this one precious moment that was theirs and only theirs.

After a few minutes Rukia finally pulled back for some air but didn't stop the wide smile that was donning on her lips. "I love you too," she whispered, her voice slightly choking as tears of pure joy started to swell in her eyes.

Ichigo smiled back as he stared into her eyes with all his love before reaching up to wipe away some of the tears that fell. "I know." The two continued grinning at each other as they soaked in the moment. Finally, he broke their peaceful silence. "So, where's my present?" he joked.

The grin quickly turned into a smirk as Rukia's eyes hinted at her robes.

Ichigo looked down and a huge smile came out as his hand reached down to grab the knot in front. "I have a feeling I'm going to like what's underneath here."

"Open and see for yourself," she dared him.

Ichigo quickly pulled at the knob and watched as the bathrobe slowly, painfully, and sexily parted down the middle. He snaked a hand inside and onto Rukia's shoulder to push it off of her to see the most naughtiest looking lingerie in front of him.

It was red.

It was lacy.

It was down-right sexy.

"You like it?" she asked, bringing his attention back to her cute face, "I bought several pairs so I can change into a different one if you'd prefer it."

"Baby, _everything_ looks fucking good on you," Ichigo smirked as he sat up. He grabbed her body and brought her onto his lap, her legs straddling his hips and her robe hanging off her arms. "Now, how about we do our own Christmas celebration?"

Rukia lightly chuckled as she shook off the rest of the robe and tossed it on the ground. "As long as we're quiet," she said as her arms wrapped around his neck, "We wouldn't want your family to come barging in here because of the noise."

"Trust me," he snorted, "I won't be the one screaming," he teased before smashing his lips onto hers.

---

Ichigo groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. He blinked several times to get rid of the fogginess as his vision cleared to see the back of his lover's head. A smile quickly tugged on his lips as he leaned forward to snuggle his nose into her black tresses.

Inhaling deeply to take in her sweet scent, Ichigo placed a small kiss on her head. His lips then continued to place butterfly kisses all over her as he shifted to place some more on her cheek. Feeling the sweet sensation running across her head, Rukia smiled as she was gently woken from her sleep. Once she felt Ichigo's lips on her cheek, she turned around and kissed him back fully.

After a while, Ichigo pulled back as he smiled down at her. "Ohayo," he whispered.

"Ohayo," she greeted back as she turned her body fully towards him before reaching up to bring his lips down on hers again.

Pulling back after a few minutes, Ichigo brought up onE of his hand to caress the side of her face as the two continued to stare into each others' eyes. "So, what do you want to do today?" he finally broke the silence.

Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "I wouldn't mind just staying in bed all day."

Ichigo chuckled as he pushed away some of the hair that was on her face. "You're beautiful," he whispered as he came back down to capture her smiling lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist as he climbed on top of her petite body. He angled his head to the side to deepen the kiss and was just about to reach for her breast when the door swung open with great force.

"ICHIGO! ARE YOU MAKING ME GRANDCHILDREN!?" Isshin cried as he jumped inside.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Ichigo yelled as he threw his clock at his father, knocking him out, as Rukia quickly pulled up the comforter to cover herself.

At that moment Karin, who was walking by to go to her room, stopped and looked into her brother's room. Seeing her father unconscious on the ground and her brother in bed with his girlfriend, covered only with his comforter, she immediately denoted what happened. "Looks like you knocked him out real good," she laughed as she grabbed Isshin's legs, one under each arm and started to drag his body outside.

"That fucking bastard shouldn't have come in here without knocking," Ichigo sneered.

"Whatever," Karin rolled her eyes as she dropped Isshin's body in the hallway, "It's your fault for having sex under this roof with the old goat waiting for grandkids. You were asking for it."

Ichigo threw his pillow at his sister but Karin had closed the door just in time and the pillow just bounced off the door.

"Ichigo," Rukia groaned, "Can I come out now?"

"Yeah," he sighed as rubbed his face in irritation.

Rukia slowly poked her head out, searched around the room for signs of any unwanted guests, before sitting up with her body still hidden. "That was the most embarrassing moment in my life."

"You're telling me," Ichigo groaned as he plopped onto his back. "I should have knocked him out real good last night." He brought up his arms and crossed them against his head, trying to hide himself from the world.

Rukia sighed as she slowly got out of bed and grabbed the robe that she had discarded the night before.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked back to see the orange head peeking between his arms, meaning he's been watching her as she moved, naked, on the bed. It was impossible to stop a smile that was tugging at her lips. "I'm going to get ready and help your sister with breakfast." She quickly got on some undergarment, and warm clothes: a red turtle neck over a black skirt. "Hurry up and come down," she told him before leaving the room and heading to the bathroom.

Before Ichigo could respond, Rukia was gone and he was left alone in his old bed, naked and angry. "I knew I shouldn't have come here," he groaned.

In less than an hour Ichigo was freshly showered, in a pair of dark jeans with a simple navy blue turtle neck on top, and sitting by the table with a scowl. He gritted his teeth as he _tried _to ignore his father.

"And then the first child will be named after me! Oh! But if it's a girl then she _must _be named after my beloved Masaki. After that, the second child can just be named the other name that's not the first's… but if the first and the second are of the same sex," Isshin frowned as he rubbed his scruffy chin in deep thought. Pulling up nothing, he looked at his son in complete horror. "Ichigo! Daddy's confused!"

Ichigo groaned as he dropped his head onto the table. "Shut up!"

Isshin only pouted with teary eyes. "But I need to solve this dilemma quickly!"

"Just answer him," Karin exclaimed in annoyance as she sat in front of her brother, "If you don't, he's going to go on and on about this until he figures it out, which can be months."

"Eugh," Ichigo groaned again. "Old man, just shut up! Think about that _AFTER _we get a kid!"

"Ah ha! So you are planning to have my grandchildren with my lovely Rukia-chan! Papa is so happy!" Isshin squealed as he rushed over to a huge poster in the living room. "Masaki! We're going to be grandparents soon!"

While Isshin continued his rant, Ichigo banged his head on the table.

"Stop that or you'll get no breakfast," Rukia snapped at him when she appeared to set breakfast on the table.

"I think he _is_ trying to kill himself," Karin smirked while staring at her older brother as he continued to destroy his brain cells.

Everyone soon gathered around the table for a simple, peaceful breakfast…of course, 'peaceful' is defined a _bit _differently in this household. Isshin kept ranting about how proud he was of his son, who was in the process of beating up his father while his girlfriend and sister tried to stop him. In less than an hour, after everyone somewhat ate their meal, they were all standing by the door with their winter outerwear clothes on.

"Let's go to our annual 'Kurosaki-family-snowball-fight' competition!" Isshin cheered as he threw open the door and ran outside like a mad man.

"He needs to grow up," Ichigo groaned as he _calmly_ led the other girls out of the house and locked the doors behind him. "Does he still go to all those neighborhood gatherings just to rant off about mom?"

"You have no idea," Karin groaned as she grabbed her sister. "Com'on, Yuzu. We need to go catch that beardo before he does something stupid again."

"'kay," Yuzu answered before turning around and waving at her brother and his girlfriend. "We'll call you guys when we find him!" she told them as she ran with her sister.

"Be careful!" Ichigo shouted just in time before his sisters disappeared.

Rukia smiled as she stood with Ichigo in the snow. "Well that sure was exciting."

"What the fuck are you talking?" Ichigo glared at her before grabbing her hand. "Let's go."

"Where to?"

He shrugged. "Anywhere. I just want to stay away from my old man as long as possible. He already ruined enough of our holiday as it is."

Rukia grinned as she followed Ichigo's lead. "Still, I really enjoyed it. I never really had a Christmas party this exciting." She laughed before it settled down to a small smile. "You're so lucky to have such a great family."

"Psch," he scoffed as he pulled Rukia next to him so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders, "I bet you won't be saying that after you live with him for only a week. I bet you'd rather spend time with Keigo…" he paused to think about what he just said before shaking his head. "No, wait, that's no different. He's as bad as my dad."

Rukia laughed out loud as she snuggled into his warmth. Within a matter of a few minutes the couple arrived at a snow-covered park. "I think it's a bit too cold to play in the playground."

Ichigo ignored her comment as he led her to the swings. He wiped off the snow before stepping aside so Rukia could sit down. Once she had settled in, he leaned against the pole as he watched her slightly swing. "I decided to come over here since there's no way anyone would come here right now."

"Because only idiots would come here in this weather," Rukia teased him.

Ichigo glared at her. "Don't call me an idiot. I just came here since we could talk without anyone bothering us."

She rolled her eyes as lifted her legs up and stared at them. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Ichigo shrugged, "Anything."

Rukia lightly smiled as she settled her legs back down and started drawing random patterns in the snow with the tip of her shoes. "This doesn't have anything to do with what we talked about yesterday in the taxi, does it?"

Ichigo slightly flinched before he shoved his hands in his pocket. "I just couldn't stop thinking about what you said."

"What's so unforgettable about it?"

"I don't know," he scratched his head, "I just can't see anyone being so sad that as a child you would run away from home."

"I wasn't a child when I left. I was already thirteen," she corrected him.

"Whatever. My question is…" Ichigo paused before looking straight into Rukia's eyes, "Just what kind of place did you previously live in? Who tortured you so much that you have no regret in leaving your family and friends?"

Rukia, who was looking straight back at him with an emotionless expression, looked back down. An uncomfortable silence suddenly surrounded them, making Ichigo feel even more anxious.

Rukia let out a long sigh. "As I told you several months ago, I was adopted by my brother-in-law. It wasn't bad at first. My foster parents treated me like the daughter they never had, and since my sister was there, nothing really seemed different from a normal family."

Ichigo stayed quiet, afraid she would stop talking the moment he interrupted.

"For several years that peace continued. I was literally living like the princess every girl wanted to be," Rukia said just before her expression darkened. "But that all changed when I turned eight. I was at a family beach with my sister and her husband when she suddenly became sick. Our trip ended short and we were rushed to the hospital…"

When Rukia took another pause, Ichigo looked over and noticed her grips on the swings had tightened into little fists. Ignoring the cold snow, Ichigo walked over and sat down in front of her on the cold ground. He gently reached out and wrapped his arms around her thin legs while propping his head atop of her knees.

Rukia took a deep breath as she lowered her head to cover her face with her bangs. "For the next two years I had to watch my sister trying to fight for her life in the hospital. Niisama got all the best doctors around the world to tend to her but nothing seemed to help her. Apparently she had leukemia. And not matter what they did nothing seemed to work on her. If some sort of medication seemed to be working, it would only be a matter of time before her body started to reject them, making her condition worse.

"In the end, my sister p-passed away," she started to choke as unwanted memories came flooding back. "I was left to be raised by my foster parents since niisama couldn't stand to look at me. I looked a lot like my sister so it would only break his heart even more. But then, another year later my foster parents died in a car accident while I was home with a fever."

Ichigo remained quiet as he only tightened his grip around her legs. He ignored the small wet droplets that fell on his head from Rukia's eyes.

"I felt like the whole world was out to make my life miserable. And niisama was no different. Since he was my only relative I had to live with him but he only made things worse. He forced me to learn the proper conduct of being part of the Kuchiki family, but he never really cared about me. In fact, I was like an invisible ghost whom nobody paid any attention to," Rukia sniffed as one of her hands came to brush her tears off of Ichigo's orange hair, while stroking it at the same time. "Just as I was graduating from junior high school, I ran away from home."

"How did you end up in Karakura?" Ichigo finally asked.

Rukia smiled as she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Well, Renji lived there with his guardians so I ran to him." She paused to look up when she heard Ichigo giving a small grunting noise, showing his annoyance. "He's my best friend."

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo growled.

Rukia chuckled at his possessiveness. "We've known each other for years, even before my sister got married. And when he moved to live with his distant relatives when his parents passed away, we kept in touch. When I ran away from home he and his family quickly took me in and cared for me."

Ichigo didn't say anything this time but that didn't keep the scowl away. He only sighed and relaxed his shoulders a bit when he felt Rukia's fingers run through his hair again.

"After niisama calmed down, he accepted the fact that I didn't want to take part in the Kuchiki family, just as much as they didn't want anything to do with me," she said, "He soon sent money to me and gave me enough to start living on my own. After that, it's history."

Ichigo nodded but continued frowning. He thought hard about what he was going to say before looking up at her. "What did you mean about the Kuchiki family not wanting to do anything with you?"

Rukia slightly tensed. "Well," she cringed at the memories of _those_ people, "Although my foster parents really liked me, the other members of that family didn't. They always saw my sister and me as some street rats that tricked my brother just to play dress up. When my sister died, many of them silently got together to celebrate."

"Why?" Even Ichigo was surprised by the amount of anger that was coursing through his body.

Rukia stared out into the vast white snow for a few seconds. "Since my sister didn't have any children, it meant that niisama's title as the Head of the Kuchiki family will be passed down to another relative along with all his riches and fame."

"Fucking bastards," Ichigo sneered.

"Hear hear," Rukia smiled in agreement. "But they got pissed when my brother made arrangements to leave everything to me at the moment of his passing."

"I see—" Ichigo got cut off at the sudden realization of what that meant. He slowly pulled away from her body to look up at her with wide eyes. "What?" he asked slightly breathlessly.

Rukia laughed as she used her finger to push his lower jaw up to close his open mouth. "You're looking at the heiress to the Kuchiki family fortune. Show some respect."

Ichigo immediately jumped up in surprise. "But I thought—Don't you hate your brother?! And now that you ran away—"

"Well," Rukia tapped her chin with her forefinger in contemplation, "Even though I was treated like dirt by my so-called relatives, and even though niisama was very inconsiderate and cold to me, he still decided to leave everything to me." She shrugged at the thought as if it was no big deal to her. "I thought it was strange that niisama still has me as his heir when I'm not even living with him anymore. I guess he hasn't gone around to it just yet."

Ichigo just gaped at her in utter disbelief before sinking back down to his previous spot in front of her. "I can't believe I'm sleeping with a fucking 'princess.'"

Rukia smiled at his words. "Kinda makes you feel special, doesn't it."

"More like a criminal," he sighed in defeat, "Ishida was right."

Rukia laughed as she jumped off the swing and stood up straight. "Ready to go?" she asked as she extended a hand down to him.

Ichigo took in a deep breath as he looked up. He couldn't help but smile the moment he saw how bright her face was. "Yeah," he answered as he took her hand and got up. He dusted off his pants, now realizing how wet it was. "Damn, you couldn't have talked faster?"

Rukia frowned before looking back to see a wet spot around the back side of his jeans. She chuckled at the image. "Hey, you were the one who sat down, not me."

"Whatever," Ichigo groaned as he took her hand again and started to lead her out of the park.

Rukia continued smiling as they slowly walked hand-in-hand around the less crowded area of Tokyo. Just the thought of being able to share her sad past with someone made her feel alive again. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"…Thanks," she whispered.

Ichigo looked over at her before smiling. He pulled her closer and held her close to him. "Sure, no problem. I'm just glad you finally opened up to me."

Rukia wrapped her arms around his waist as they continued their walk. "I love you," she whispered.

Ichigo planted a sweet kiss on top of her head. "I love you too," he replied as they slowly walked.

After a few minutes, Rukia looked around and frowned. "Shouldn't we hurry?" she asked, "Wouldn't your family get worried if we're late?"

"That's the point," Ichigo grinned, "I want to stay as far away from them as possible until we leave tomorrow morning."

Rukia laughed as she snuggled deeper into his warm body. "But I like your family."

"Yeah, well I do too. But that doesn't mean I want hang out with them all the time," he said.

A heart-warming laughter came from Rukia as the two continued their walk in the snowy path, not caring about anything else in the world. For now, they were the only ones occupying it.

* * *

A/N: FINALLY I got all my stuff down from Rukia's past. I decided to include this part because...well, I'm sure most of you guys have already guessed it hehe. If u haven't...then just wait until next week.

Also, a lot of people are asking about what I'm going to do with Orihime and Renji now that they both 'secretly' know the truth. I pretty much have it all down but I just want to know what you guys think. Here's a hint: only ONE of them is going to be a problem while the other person comes out pretty okay (but don't worry since I'm going to give the first person a good ending too). So, what do you guys think I'm going to do? O.o

Anyways, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!!!!!! Lov u guys!

Preview for next chapter:

An unwanted guest is waiting our two heros......... HE finally makes an appearance!!


	21. 21 Niisama

**Author's Review: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. My computer is really old and it keeps dying on me (I'm trying to get a new one). BUT luckily my friend fixed it for me...kinda, and I have the new chapter all done! Oh! And THANKS AGAIN for all the reviews!! I hope to finish this story in about five more chapters so keep reviewing to keep my spirits up!  
**

**A lot of people made really good guesses at what's going to happen in this chapter. But I noticed a lot more people were bashing on Orihime more than Renji....well, read and find out who's going to be the bitch in this chapter! i'm really excited.  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 21: Niisama

* * *

A shadowy figure stood next to a window, looking straight up at the night sky. "You sure about that?" he asked in a cold, emotionless tone.

"Yes, I have no doubt," someone replied by the door.

The man said nothing for a few seconds, acting totally calm as if nothing surprised him. Finally, he spoke. "Fine. We will go and check it out."

"Yes," the other man bowed before quickly leaving the office. The door closed and it left the man all alone in the dark room.

---

"Sensei, see you next week!"

"'kay, now hurry up and get out of here!" Ichigo shouted back at the last few students who were running down the hallway to go home for a relaxing weekend. "I should get going too," he mumbled to himself as he arrived at his office. He slid open the door and closed it after stepping inside.

"You're late," an angry voice growled at him.

Ichigo glared. "Well, it's not my fault I wanted to be cautious. If I had hurried up things might have looked suspicious to some people."

Rukia, who was sitting on top of his desk with one leg over the other and her arms crossed under her chest, returned the glare. "Still, it couldn't have possibly taken you this long."

With a groan, Ichigo walked over. "I just had to stop by and give Chad something," he told her as he reached over to lightly kiss her on the cheek, "Then I caught some students smoking behind the gym." He sighed as he dropped his tired body on his chair and stretched out his legs. "Thankfully Chad decided to take care of the rest so I could come up here. So you should go and thank him."

"Hmph," she grunted, "Then you could have texted me or something."

"Fine, I'm sorry," Ichigo finally gave up as he placed his head atop of his desk.

"Good boy," Rukia smirked as she ran her fingers gently through his orange hair. He replied with a quiet moan as he leaned closer, wrapping an arm around her waist before plopping his head on her lap. A chuckle came from her throat. "You liking this?"

"It's really relaxing," he sighed.

Silently, Rukia continued her sweet strokes while looking out the window that was just behind her. She peered down to see the school grounds completely empty and the sun just ready to set. "I think it's safe to leave now."

"But this is so nice," he mumbled, already half sleep.

Another chuckle came from her as she stopped her hand and gently placed it on his shoulders. "We still need to go get some supplies from Urahara. The faster we do that the faster we can go home," she reasoned.

"Fine," Ichigo sighed in defeat as he reluctantly pushed himself off of his girlfriend's legs. He quickly started to pack his stuff. "Why do I assign so much work," he mumbled to himself.

"Because you are a sadistic teacher," Rukia faked a pout as she jumped off his desk and straighten her skirt.

Ichigo was about to retort when there was a sudden knock on his door. The two stiffened before Rukia quickly looked around for a hiding spot while Ichigo quickly reached for the door and held onto the handle. "W-who is it?" he asked.

"_Me. Open up_."

Quickly figuring out the owner of the voice, the two calmed down before Ichigo opened his door with a glare. "Next time, a warning would be nice. You almost gave us a heart attack."

"You just need to be more careful. Besides, how many times have I told you not to meet up in the school?" Uryuu asked while pushing up his glasses. Without giving his friend a chance to answer, he quickly held up a piece of paper. "Here," he simply said.

Ichigo frowned as he took the paper. "What's this?"

"Something about the monthly report the principle wanted you to go over later. Full detail is already on it," Uryuu shrugged. "I suggest you read it thoroughly since we don't know if there's something really important in there or not."

Ichigo grunted in annoyance as he skimmed the paper. "Fine, whatever," he groaned. He was about to push his friend out but Uryuu quickly stepped aside and looked over his shoulder.

"Make sure he _actually_ reads it," he said to Rukia.

"Got it!" Rukia smiled.

"Oi!" Ichigo shouted at the two before grabbing Uryuu's shoulder and pushing him out, "I thought I told you 'I got it.' No need to set me up with a babysitter."

"I'm just doing what's best for you," Uryuu commented before calmly walking away before Ichigo's fist could hit him. "I'll see you later tonight for dinner," he said before disappearing.

"Fucking jackass," Ichigo mumbled to himself as he walked back to where Rukia was standing. "Anyways, I guess we should just head back home in case we get interrupted again."

"Agreed," Rukia nodded as she grabbed her bag. "We need to get all our stuff so you can meet your friends in time. I'll go out first," she said, "I'll meet you by the corner just before Urahara's store."

Ichigo merely nodded as he watched Rukia peeking out of his office before quickly running down the hallway and out of the school. He waited for the second hand to move across the clock on his wall before also heading out. He wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

---

Uryuu watched from the window as Rukia quickly made her way out of the school building.

"Any student causing problem?"

Uryuu turned around to shake his head. "Looks like today's a bit quiet."

Chad nodded as he joined his friend by the window. Soon the two noticed Ichigo slowly coming out of the school and heading the same direction that Rukia went a little while ago. "I wonder how things are going with them."

"I'm hoping it's going well," Uryuu sighed, "I wouldn't want something bad to happen when the school year is almost over."

Again, Chad nodded. He then looked up and frowned. "Looks like it's going to rain."

"Rain?" Uryuu looked up and frowned as well. "But it's fucking winter."

"You shouldn't swear at school, Ishida-kun."

The two men gasped as they looked to their left to see Orihime also looking out the window.

"I-Inoue-san," Uryuu stuttered, "What are you—I mean, how long were you standing there?" He was sure he was the only one in the faculty lounge before Chad came in, and when the gentle giant came there was no one else with him.

Orihime slowly looked up and gave them her usual smile. "Long enough," she replied.

Chad grunted. "Then did you hear what we were talking about?" he asked as he turned around to see if anyone else was also with them. But thankfully, there seemed to be nobody else in the room.

"Yup," she continued smiling.

Uryuu choked on air. "Is-is that all y-you have to say?"

The woman merely shrugged as she looked back outside. "I already knew Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san are in _that_ kind of relationship."

"Huh?"

The young woman chuckled at her friends' shocked faces. "I said I already knew everything. Oh! And don't worry! I won't tell anyone," she gave them a determined look.

Uryuu stared at her before clearing his throat to regain his composure. "So, you're not upset?"

"Why should I be?" she smiled, "I'm finally free."

Chad smiled as he watched his friend taking in a deep breath to steady her shaking voice.

Uryuu also smiled as he looked away. "Free, huh?"

Orihime nodded as she faced the window again, but this time dropped her head to wipe away some tears.

"Yeah," Chad replied in stead of the woman as he looked away also.

When the sniffling subsided, Uryuu looked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Wanna join us for dinner? Kurosaki is buying."

Orihime looked back up to smile, though her nose and cheeks were still a bit red. "Okay."

---

It took Ichigo only ten minutes to reach the store with his slow pace. When he turned the corner he noticed Rukia leaning against a fence, humming a random tune. He smiled as he walked over and planted a kiss on her cheek. "What you humming?"

Rukia shrugged her shoulders as she smiled back at him. "Nothing in particular. I'm just having a really good day."

Ichigo just laughed as he grabbed her hand and led her to the store. He slid the door open and shouted, "Urahara, we're here!"

"ARA!!!" A singing tone came from behind the back room before the man himself popped out with his fan covering his huge grin. "I haven't seen you two in awhile."

"Where's Yoruichi-san?" Rukia asked.

"She's still sleeping. You young'uns aren't the only ones who know how to have fun," Urahara laughed out loud.

Ichigo and Rukia both cringed at his words. "Fucking pervert," Ichigo muttered.

"He is and he's too proud of that fact."

The other three slightly jumped when Yoruichi approached from behind the door and smacked Urahara on the head real hard. "Ara, that hurt Yoruichi," he half cried and half laughed.

"That's what you get for talking too much," she growled at him before looking over to smirk when she saw Ichigo and Rukia holding hands. "Shouldn't you guys be more careful?"

Rukia looked down and immediately yanked her hand out of Ichigo's grip. "T-that—Nothing happened," she stuttered.

"Sorry but I already got a picture!" Urahara chuckled as he held up his camera phone, "And I should send it to Isshin—"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Ichigo shouted as he ran over to grab the phone but Urahara just stepped aside.

"Getting a bit slow, are we?" he teased, "Maybe I should call Isshin about how weak you got so he can start up your training again." Before Ichigo could retort, Yoruichi quickly took the phone out of Urahara's grip and deleted the picture. "Aw, why did you do that, Yoruichi?" he pouted.

"Because Isshin doesn't know Rukia's still a high school student, you dumbass," she glared at him.

Urahara nervously chuckled behind his fan. "Aha, I knew that."

"Yeah right," Ichigo scoffed as he smacked the shopkeeper behind the head. "Anyways, we're here to buy some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Urahara asked, suddenly all happy again, "We range from simple fruits and vegetables to sex toys you can't get anywhere—"

"I meant household items, you sick bastard," Ichigo smacked him again.

Yoruichi shook her head before grabbing Rukia. "Com'on, I'll help you pick some stuff out," she said.

"Okay," Rukia nodded before following the older woman to the back of the store where items from toothbrushes to computer parts were being held. Ichigo silently watched as the two women disappeared.

"They sure are beautiful," Urahara commented, "We're a couple of lucky guys, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ichigo smiled as he watched Rukia from the doorway, "Yeah, we sure are."

Urahara smiled as he leaned against the wall, next to the doorway where Ichigo was standing. The two remained silent as they listened to their women talk to each other about which shampoo smelled better. The older man then turned his head and broke the silence. "How many more months left until she graduates?"

Ichigo turned to look at him before counting in his head. "Well, since its January that means there's only three more months left."

Urahara nodded. "Then you two don't have to hide your relationship anymore."

Ichigo stared at him before smiling. "Yeah," he nodded, "We can finally come out from hiding."

"It'd be a happy day for everyone," Urahara said but he covered his serious expression with his fan when Ichigo turned back to see Rukia coming back to him. _Hopefully nothing comes in the way before then._

"You done?" Ichigo asked as he grabbed the basket Rukia held out to him.

"Yeah," she replied, "There really wasn't much stuff that we needed.

Ichigo nodded as he placed the basket on the counter and started to pull each item out. Urahara came over and quickly registered each item. "This comes up to be 4000 yen," he said (A/N: around $40). Ichigo quickly pulled out some money and handed it over to Urahara who took it. "Thank you! Come again!" He smiled. Ichigo and Rukia waved back as they left the store.

The door to the shop slowly slid back shut, closing off the bright sun. The two remaining occupants stood still as the darkness surrounded them along with a gloomy atmosphere.

"So?" Urahara asked while still staring at the closed door.

Yoruichi frowned. "I have a bad feeling, Kisuke," she said, "Something—more like someone—will come. I just know it."

Urahara nodded as he heard the thunder clouds outsides. "It seems it might come sooner then expected."

---

Rukia cowered closer to Ichigo who was using his jacket to cover both of them as they ran to their apartment. "Why is it suddenly raining?" she shouted over the loud downpour.

"How am I supposes to know! The weather channel said it was supposed to be sunny!" Ichigo shouted back.

The two grunted as they continued to run, water splashing onto their legs as they ran across the street and quickly to their apartment. Ichigo shook his jacket off of them and started to swing it up and down to get rid of the excessive water. "Man, its pouring cats and dogs out here."

"I agree," Rukia dusted her clothes. "Com'on, let's get home and dry off." She turned towards the stairs and the two quickly made their way up. But before even reaching half way, Rukia stopped to peer back outside.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked as he eyed her weird stance.

"I just noticed there are a lot of new cars out there that I haven't seen before," she pointed outside towards the parking lot.

Ichigo followed her example and peered down before letting out a low whistle. "Looks like the king moved in here."

Rukia nodded before straightening up to continue her way up the stairs. "Today's been a weird day all together."

"I know what you mean," he added as they finally reached their floor. Ichigo took her hand in his and smiled when Rukia leaned over to lean her head on his shoulders. He placed a quick kiss on her head as he gently led her towards their apartment. But for some reason, with each step they took, something felt weird. "Is it just me or does this place feel eerier than it usually is?" he asked.

Rukia looked around and tightened her grip inside Ichigo's hands. "I know what you mean. Something feels out of place." The two looked at each other with a frown before heading towards their door.

Ichigo pulled out his keys and inserted it into the key hole. But instead of turning it, his entire body flinched.

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked when she noticed he wasn't moving.

Ichigo slowly turned to look at her. "You did lock the doors this morning before you left, right?" he asked.

Rukia stared at him before slowly nodding her head.

"Then why is it unlocked?" he whispered as he gently pulled his keys back out.

Rukia's eyes widened. _Another burglary?!_ she thought to herself as Ichigo pulled her behind him. He slowly gripped the knob and started to turn it. She remained half-hidden as the door slowly opened. At first glance, there was absolutely nothing.

It was pitch black.

Ichigo took a quiet step into the apartment and reached for the switch to turn on the lights. The moment it came on, everything changed.

In front of them were tall, muscular men wearing black suits and black sunglasses, with their arms crossed in front of their chests as they stood behind a man who was examining the pictures from their summer vacation on the wall.

And the said man sent chills down Ichigo's spine in merely a single glance.

He was taller than Ichigo by several inches and had long black hair with pieces of kenseikan on one side of his head. He was also wearing an expensive-looking Italian suit with alligator-skinned shoes. Everything about this man screamed at Ichigo to quickly run and hide. He was literally emitting a killing aura.

Rukia did everything she could to stop a scream as she stared, wide-eyed, at the man standing before her. It was like her worse nightmare had come true. "N-niisama," she mumbled low in her throat. And Ichigo immediately stiffened when he heard her.

Kuchiki Byakuya calmly turned his head towards the door and stared at the two figures standing by it. An eerie silence enveloped them.

Rukia cleared her dry throat as she broke the silence. "Wha—what are you…doing here?"

"It's not Kuchiki-like to stutter, Rukia," he simply said in an icy tone that made Ichigo want to cower away in fear. When the silence came back, Byakuya took a step to the side as he stood with his body facing them. "Hurry up and get inside. You're letting the cold wind come in."

Ichigo was still stiff but was forced to move when Rukia lightly pushed him inside. The two slowly slipped their shoes off and stepped completely into the apartment, letting the door slam shut by itself. They visibly flinched at the loud "BANG!" and noticed that with the thunder outside, the lights were starting to flicker on and off.

Ichigo quickly stepped to the side, keeping Rukia behind him, and stood in the middle of their living room, several feet away from the emotionless man and his bodyguards. "Wh—" he cleared his throat when his voice lightly squeaked, "What are you doing in here? Did you break in?"

Byakuya's cold eyes immediately went up to stare at Ichigo, who was trying his best to stay calm. "I don't think you have the liberty to speak here, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia gasped. "How do you know him?" she asked breathlessly.

"I know _everything_ when it comes to my business, and that includes my family," he said as he looked at his sister again. "And I believe I didn't raise you to cower behind someone else no matter what the situation. You're wearing a very pathetic look."

Rukia lowered her head as she stepped out from behind her boyfriend. "Forgive me," she said.

For some reason, just seeing Rukia—the same head-strong Rukia he fell in love with—quickly flinching in fear, got rid of all his jitters. Ichigo looked back at the man in front of him with a full on glare. It only boiled the anger in him. "Don't order her around like some fucking dog," he growled.

Rukia gasped as she grabbed his arm. "Ichigo! Don't say that!" she whispered in a panicking tone.

"I can if I want to," he looked at her, "I won't stand around and let some guy talk shit like that to you."

Rukia's eyes widened before they narrowed down to a scowl. "You idiot. Although I appreciate you trying to stand up for me, _he—_" she slightly nodded at Byakuya, "—is not the person to put yourself up against!"

"But—"

"You would do wise and listen to my sister," Byakuya stepped in, "She knows what will happen to you if you continue to fight me." He turned back to look at Rukia and simply said: "We're leaving."

Rukia stopped breathing. "…Ni-niisama."

"I already got all your stuff packed," he continued, "We're leaving right now."

Ichigo gritted his teeth. "You fucking bastard. I don't care who you are but you have no right to break into someone's house and go through their stuff!"

"And you have right to have a relationship with my sister?" he questioned with an air of superiority. "I will have you arrested for tricking Rukia—"

"No!" Rukia stepped in front of Ichigo and held her arms out, "Please, I will follow you if you promise to leave Ichigo out of this!"

Byakuya's eyes narrowed into slits. "You dare stand up for this man?"

Although slightly shaking, Rukia kept her stance with a firm look. "Yes, niisama."

"I see this man has corrupted your mind," he scoffed, "I knew something happened when you didn't come back home after your apartment got raided."

As his words sunk in, Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait a second…how did you know about that?"

"Don't tell me, you…" Ichigo trailed off.

Byakuya merely looked down to remove a piece of lint on his black tie before looking back up with his same cold stare. "Yes."

A low growl came from Ichigo's throat as he pulled Rukia next to him. "Fucking bastard," he cursed again.

"I wanted Rukia to come home on her own two feet, admitting that she couldn't live alone in this world," he stated, "Of course I never took into consideration that there might have been someone to whom she could go to. A grave mistake that I can assure you I will not make again."

Rukia watched on as she watched three men coming out from their bedroom holding her possessions.

"What the fuck?" Ichigo cringed, "You can't possibly be planning on forcing her back home, are you? I don't know much about you or your fucking name, but I won't stand by and watch you take Rukia back to that hell hole."

An eyebrow went up as Byakuya continued staring at him. "You still dare to stand up against me when your life is being threatened?" he asked as his eyes narrowed into slits, "Do not mess with me, _kozo_. I can do worst things to you then simply getting you arrested." He looked back at Rukia who was starting to shake. "Come, Rukia," he ordered.

"Wha—" Ichigo's voice got cut off when suddenly they were surrounded by Byakuya's bodyguard. He glared at them as he placed Rukia behind him. "Get away," he snarled. But they promptly ignored him and tried to reach for Rukia.

"AH!" Rukia screamed when somebody suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.

Ichigo quickly turned around and send a kick to the guts at the man who grabbed her. Once he was down on the floor, Ichigo quickly placed an arm around her shoulders and held her close. "Get away!" he yelled again.

"This is taking too long," Byakuya sighed, "I permit you to use force."

At those words, three men quickly dashed forward and tried to pull Ichigo away from Rukia.

"NO!" he shouted as he tried to punch with one arm and hold onto Rukia with the other.

Byakuya watched from a distance as his three men fell on the floor. He looked at them before drawing his eyes to the man in front of him. "You're being stubborn. Rukia already agreed to come back with me if I didn't call the cops. But if you continue to resist, I will have you arrested."

Rukia gasped but Ichigo just tightened his hold. "I don't care. I won't let you take her away from me."

"Ichigo! Are you crazy?" Rukia shouted at him.

"I don't care!" he said again as he held her against him, "I promised to protect you and I'm going to keep that promise."

Rukia looked between her boyfriend and her brother, unable to say anything. What should she do? Stay here and risk Ichigo getting in trouble from the authorities, or leave with her brother and end their relationship? _This isn't what I wanted,_ she cried inwardly.

"Rukia."

The said woman looked up at her brother who suddenly called her.

"I order you to step away from this man if you know what's best for him. If you come now, I will leave him half alive," he said as his stare got colder, "But if you make me wait any longer, I will have him killed right now."

Rukia's eye's widened at his sudden threat. "Niisama!"

"Get it through your fucking head!" Ichigo interrupted, "Rukia is staying with me so leave us alone!"

"Three months, niisama!" Rukia shouted, gaining both men's attention. "In three more months I'm graduating. Will you permit me to see him then? When we're legal to meet?"

"Rukia!" Ichigo gaped at her.

Byakuya remained silent as he eyed his sister. A thin eyebrow went up when his eyes met with a pair of eyes that held so much determination, hope and authority. "Three months?" he asked.

"Hai," she responded.

"…No," he said as soon as he looked away. As soon as his words fell off his lips, three more of his men came up from behind and ripped Ichigo away from her.

"Rukia!" Ichigo shouted.

Rukia looked back and was about to reach for him when two men grabbed her. "Ichigo!"

The orange head struggled against his holders. "Fucking bastards, let go!"

"Shut up!" one of them yelled as he sent a heavy punch straight at his guts.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia screamed as she watched Ichigo going slightly limp. "Let go!" she shouted at the men holding her as she tried to reach him, "Let go of him!"

"Enough Rukia," Byakuya called out as he went over to grab her, "You're making a scene that is improper for a Kuchiki."

But Rukia didn't hear a word he said because she was too busy trying to reach Ichigo, who was gasping for air as he got steady on his legs again. "Bastard," he cursed again, "Let her go!"

"Shut it!" Another man shouted as he punched Ichigo across the face.

Rukia had to watch in horror as punch after punch, kick after kick landed on Ichigo whenever he tried to struggle. She screamed, squirmed and even bit the hand of one of her holders but she couldn't reach him. "Niisama!" she turned around and begged with her eyes. "Please, let him go! Stop this!"

But Byakuya merely ignored her as he indicated with his head for his men to start dragging her out the door.

Ichigo, who was wheezing, looked up to see his girlfriend being dragged out. "No! Rukia!" He was about to rip his hand out of the vice-like grip when an unexpected person suddenly came flying through the door.

"ICHIGO! I CAME TO SEE YOU—What the…"

Everyone stood frozen as Kurosaki Isshin looked around the apartment. He was shocked to see so many suit-wearing men inside, three of them holding his son back while others were seemingly dragging Rukia outside…Rukia… Isshin's widened as he noticed the uniform she was wearing.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Isshin gasped.

"Kurosaki-san…" Rukia whimpered.

Byakuya, who was standing off to the side, merely stared at the old man before grabbing Rukia's elbow. "Let's go," he said as he continued dragging his sister out.

Getting back his senses, Ichigo started struggling again. "NO!" he shouted, "RUKIA!"

"ICHIGO!" Rukia shouted back as she tried to escape Byakuya's grip but it was impossible.

When Byakuya came to the door, he stood in front of Isshin with a cold glare. "Move," he ordered, "Or else I will have you arrested as well."

Isshin, still completely confused with the whole situation, stepped aside as the cold man walked passed him.

"Kurosaki-san!" Rukia shouted this time.

Isshin was still not sure what was happening but the moment he heard his future daughter-in-law crying for help, his arm came up and quickly grabbed Byakuya's wrist that was holding Rukia.

Byakuya came to an abrupt stop and slowly turned his head to glare at the man who now had over five guns pointing at him. "Do you wish for an early death?"

Isshin glared back. "I don't care about my life," he said in a serious tone, "I'm going to die sooner or later. But what I do care about is the fact that you're trying to steal my future daughter-in-law against her wishes. And as a father, I can not just stand by and watch her get taken away."

For a second, Ichigo and Rukia both felt a glimmer of hope rise in them.

"Is that so?" Byakuya raised his chin to give the infamous Kuchiki's 'I'm-better-than-thou' look. "Then are you saying you were aware of their social standings and the fact that this relationship is illegal? You should just be glad I'm not pressing charges on your son for violating my sister."

"Niisama!" Rukia shouted, "I'm telling you that he didn't force me!"

"Enough!" It was the first time Byakuya showed his annoyance by raising his voice. He gave Rukia a deadly look that had her frozen in her spot. "I will not listen to this rubbish anymore." With that he pushed Isshin aside and continued the final steps out of the apartment.

"Rukia—urgh!" Ichigo grunted when one of the men in black punched him across the face again.

"If I was you, I'd stay quiet," he threatened. The beating continued, not stopping even for a second when Isshin tried to stop them. Finally, they released their hold on him causing Ichigo to fall face-down on the ground, and straightened their clothes. "Count yourself lucky that we didn't kill you," one of them said before they all quickly left the apartment.

"Ichigo!" Isshin quickly dashed over to his son and held his shoulders as he helped him to his knees. "You okay, son?"

"Rukia," Ichigo gasped as he wiped off some blood at the corner of his mouth, "Fuck," he muttered as he tried to stand up. But he quickly lost his footing and almost fell again if his father hadn't caught him in time.

Isshin cringed when he noticed the bruises and cuts over his son's body. "Ichigo, enough. She's far gone by now."

"No," Ichigo gasped as he tried to push his father off of him. "I need to get to her. I promised I'd protect her—ugh," he grunted again when he tried to take a step forward.

"That's enough!" Isshin grabbed him tighter, "You'll do no good if you go to her in this condition! You'd only get yourself killed!"

"But I have to get to Rukia—"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" Isshin shouted.

Ichigo immediately froze when he heard his father raise his voice at him. He was half-kneeling on the ground, straining his body to stand up, but couldn't move any further as his father continued.

"Ichigo, are you a fucking fool or were you too busy thinking with your dick to ignore what you did?! Rukia is a student!"

"I know that!" Ichigo shouted back, causing Isshin to flinch back in surprise. "I know that…" he said in a quieter voice as he fell completely on his knees and hands.

Isshin stared at his son for a while until he noticed his shoulders shaking. "Ichigo…" he called out as he came over to hold his shoulders again.

"I know that…" Ichigo repeated as he clenched his eyes shut to stop any tears from coming, "I know…but I love her!"

Only silence replied back as Isshin stared at his son, not sure how to react to the sudden confession.

But Ichigo continued. "Only three more months," he cried, "We only had to wait three more months and then we wouldn't have to hide things anymore."

Isshin continued to stay quiet as he held his son close to him as he cried out loud. He could hear the rain outside pouring down even harder.

---

"Niisama."

Byakuya remained quiet as the car continued to drive further and further away from Karakura.

Rukia took in a deep breath as she tried to stop her voice from shaking. She looked up at her brother and spoke. "I promise never to defy your words again. I promise to live up to the Kuchiki name and do whatever you ask of me," she paused to see if her brother was listening. Though he wasn't looking at her, the fact that he wasn't doing anything else was enough to indicate that he was. So she continued. "If only you promise to leave Ichigo alone."

"…" Byakuya crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window. There was nothing but silence for a few seconds before Byakuya answered. "…Agreed."

Rukia looked down at her two clenched fists and saw two tears dropping on top of them. "Thank you, niisama."

* * *

A/N: SO????? what did you guys think? It was really hard for me (I still consider myself a noob when it comes to writing stories) to convey all my thoughts in writing. I didn't want to bore you guys with long descriptions...but if I don't then it leaves huge holes in the story..... I'm so confused! So technically, yes, I'm not too pleased since it wasn't everything I wanted but I think it's good enough.

So it seems like I made Orihime the good person here....or did I? O.o

Okay, I'm not going to make this long and ask for another poll. She's not the bad person. My friend thought I bashed her too much already by making her too stalker-ish in the story so I decided to give her a happy ending. She can finally let go of her obsession now that there is a clear barrier between them: that barrier being Rukia. And some argued that Orihime is the type of person who would give up her happiness so everyone else can be happy. But Renji...well, I'll explain that in the next chapter.

PLEASE REVIEW! And thanks for reading!

Preview for next chapter:

Plans are being formed to save Rukia while she finds out how it all happened


	22. 22 Friends II

**Author's Review: THANK YOU for all the reviews! I can't believe I got over 700 reviews for this story even though my writing's not perfect. I really do appreciate all of you guys for taking time to review. There's only a few more chapters left so I'll put the "THANK YOU REVIEWERS" list at the end.**

**This is titled _Friends II_ because it focuses more on Ichigo and Rukia's friend. Some people PM'd me about making Orihime good and Renji possibly bad...well, read the chapter and I'll give extra comments in my ending A/N. This is more of a filler chapter with important information that connects the previous chapter and what's going to happen next. R & R!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 22: Friends II

* * *

"He's late."

Orihime and Chad chuckled as they watched another vein pop on Uryuu's forehead. "Calm down, Ishida-kun. I'm sure he's on his way."

"Well he better be," Uryuu snorted as he sat back and crossed his arms across his chest, "I didn't bring any money with me."

"I brought some cash so we're good," Chad said as he took a sip of his drink.

"See, even if he can't make it Sado-kun can pay for us," Orihime smiled.

"That's not the whole point," Uryuu sighed. He reached into his pocket to dish out his phone. "I'm going to call him."

"Hm," Chad nodded as he continued to sip his drink. Orihime laughed before sending their waiter an apologetic look that they still weren't ready to order yet.

Uryuu drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for the other line to pick up. "_Ring. Ring. Ring._" Another vein popped up as his fingers became even more persistent to dent the table underneath. "Even this ringing is annoying," he groaned as the voicemail came on again.

"So Inoue…" Chad started, "What happened?"

The woman looked up at him with a questioning look before she caught on. "Oh…_that,_" she whispered before chuckling lowly, though there really wasn't any amusement in her tone. "Well, I kinda found out that day when we went to Kurosaki-kun's apartment to check out that rumor. I heard you guys talking with him about Kuchiki-san."

Uryuu tensed at what she just said. "I-I didn't know you were there."

Orihime shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "I came back to see what you had to talk to him about. It's a good thing that I did."

"Why is that?" Chad asked. "This couldn't have been easy for you."

"Eun," she nodded, "I ended up crying over a week because of it."

Uryuu frowned. "Then why do you sound so relieved?"

Orihime took a sip of her drink before looking up at him. "Like I said: I'm free. Now I don't have to waste my time chasing after a man I can never have."

"What made you come up with that?" Chad asked.

"Kuchiki-san finally became the barrier that I've been searching for," she answered, "Before, while I might have said I was over Kurosaki-kun, I still held the unwanted hope of getting his affection some day. But now, finally there's a reason to stop hoping."

"Still, it must have been hard for you," Chad said.

Orihime nodded. "At first when I found out about his relationship with her, I was planning on exposing it or somehow get to Kurosaki-kun with this scandalous information. But…" she looked down to keep her eyes hidden in case they saw her eyes brimming with tears again. "I knew he would hate me if I did that. If others find out, then not only would my dreams with him shatter forever, but so will whatever friendship that is left between us. And…I didn't want to do that."

Uryuu smiled as he looked at his drink. "That's a pretty noble decision you made."

Orihime nodded again. "I might have loved Kurosaki-kun as a woman, but I also love him as a friend. And that's more important to me in my heart."

Chad smiled at his friend as he patted her shoulder. "I will pray for your happiness."

"Thank you," she whispered.

Uryuu sighed, unsure of how to comfort his dear friend. So instead he pulled out his phone and said, "I'm going to try calling him again."

Orihime looked up at him and smiled. "Okay," she whispered as Uryuu placed the phone next to his ear.

The ringing continued again, bringing back the tick from before. The gloomy mood from before was quickly gone as the other two noticed his anger bubbling up again. After the tenth ring, the call finally got picked up. "Goddamit, Kurosaki!" Uryuu shouted into the phone, "Where the hell are you?!" The other two quickly looked away, trying to pretend they weren't associated with him when other people in the restaurant threw them a glare.

"_Um, is this Ishida-kun?"_

The said man stiffened when he heard another voice beside that of his friend. "Yes…who is this?"

"_Ah, long time no see! Or is it no 'hear?'" _the man laughed.

Uryuu immediately recognized the other person through his odd joke. "Kurosaki-san?" he called out, getting curious looks from Orihime and Chad.

"_Yup,_" Isshin answered, _"I haven't talked to you since Ichigo moved here. How have you been m'boy?"_

"Um, fine, thanks for asking," Uryuu answered though he was frowning. "Excuse me for asking, but how come you're the one answering Kurosaki's phone right now?"

"_Because I'm visiting my son right now,_" he replied.

A moment of silence passed as cold sweat streamed down Uryuu's face. "Um, are you really? W-why? I mean, wh-who, um… anyone else—that is, what about—"

"_If you're talking about Rukia-chan_," Isshin interrupted, though his tone now serious, _"I am already aware._"

Now the sweats were falling down like waterfall and Uryuu's faced contorted like he was constipating. "Um, then may I ask just how much you know? And what's going on right now."

"…"

"Kurosaki-san?" Uryuu called out when there was no answer.

"…_Ishida-kun, may I ask you to come over to Ichigo's apartment right now? I really would like to talk to you_."

Uryuu throat dried up and he tried to swallow to loosen it up. For some reason he felt like a kid who got caught for helping a friend break the neighbor's window. "Um, sure. I'll be right there."

"_Good. I'll see you in a few minutes,_" Isshin said before hanging up the phone.

Uryuu slowly peeled the phone away from his ears and stared at it as he heard the dial tone coming from it.

"What was that?" Chad asked.

"Seems like Kurosaki in trouble," he answered as he closed his phone and stood up, "His father wants me to come over right now, but I think all three of us should go there."

"Why?" Orihime asked.

Uryuu looked at her as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and pulled his arms through the sleeves. "It's about Kurosaki _and_ Kuchiki."

The two immediately got up, Chad threw a few bucks on the table, and the three friends were running out the restaurant with their umbrellas and towards Ichigo's apartment. With their insane speed, it took them only ten minutes to get there.

Chad quickly went to the door and gently banged on it with his giant fist. In no time, the door was unlocked and opened.

"Ah, I didn't know you two were coming as well," Isshin gently smiled, "Good to see all of you guys again. It's been too long."

"Good evening, Kurosaki-san," Orihime bowed, followed by the two men, "How have you been?"

"Quite well," he answered, "I've been good. Come on in." He pulled the door open wider and motioned for the three to enter. They slowly stepped into the apartment and slipped their shoes off and stepped into the living room. They immediately took a spot on the couch while Isshin sat on the single, adjacent seat.

"Um, excuse me for asking—"

"You sure do ask a lot," Isshin grinned.

Uryuu merely pushed up his glasses and coughed. "Ahem, well, I just wanted to know where Kurosaki and Kuchiki might be."

Isshin's smile immediately fell and a serious atmosphere surrounded them. The three friends gulped, already feeling uncomfortable by Isshin's sudden uncharacteristic expression. "Before I tell you," he started, placing his elbows on top of his knees and placing his hands near his mouth, "I just wanted to know one thing: how long have you three known about Ichigo and Rukia-chan's relationship?"

"A little more than a month," Chad answered.

Isshin nodded. "And were you guys also aware that Rukia-chan is Ichigo's student?"

It suddenly got really hot in the room.

"Um," Uryuu coughed as he tried to pull his collar that felt like it was choking him, "Well, we knew right away since she is a student at our school. One of the top students in fact."

Again Isshin nodded. "I see. And was nothing done to stop this relationship?"

"They were already passed home base by the time we found out," Uryuu answered.

This time Isshin sighed as he brought up his hands to rub his temple. "What could have possibly gotten into them to start such a risky relationship?"

"Simple: they are in love."

The four looked up to see Yoruichi and Urahara standing by the door that Isshin had forgotten to lock when Ichigo's friends came inside.

Isshin's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at his friends. "You two told me Ichigo finally found a girl. But I never expected Rukia-chan to actually be a _girl._"

Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to sit on the floor across from the couch. "I was way too busy just celebrating over the loss of Ichigo's virginity to really think about that."

"Besides," Urahara continued as he sat next to Yoruichi, "You weren't complaining when we told you about her through the phone."

"You didn't tell me she was Ichigo's student!" Isshin yelled. "And now her fucking brother—with a missile up his ass—broke in here and took Rukia-chan away after threatening and beating up my son!"

Orihime gasped while Uryuu and Chad stared at the older man with wide eyes.

"Ah," Urahara nodded, "So it finally happened. Guess we were right."

"Yeah, and sometimes I hate that," Yoruichi sighed as she looked out the window to see that the rainstorm still hadn't let up.

Isshin groaned as he leaned back against his seat. "I had to drug my own son to sleep since he's been trying to go after Rukia-chan in his condition. I think he might have broken a rib."

Urahara nodded. "I'm really sorry for not having told you about Kuchiki-san, my old friend. But you must understand, Yoruichi and I knew it was for the best."

Isshin eyed his two friends for a while before nodding. "I know. I have yet to doubt your amazing ability to predict the future. After all, you two did help me with Masaki."

Yoruichi smiled. "Pretty much the same way we got Ichigo and Rukia together."

Isshin chuckled as he closed his eyes to reminisce about the good ol'days.

"Ano, then what's going to happen to Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

The three older adults looked at each other before becoming all serious again. "Well, Rukia-chan's brother did threaten to call the police."

"But seeing how none came, I'm guessing he took pity on him," Yoruichi said.

"Or maybe he thought his men already killed Kurosaki-kun," Urahara suggested.

But Isshin shook his head. "Or Rukia-chan did something to get her brother to leave Ichigo alone."

Another silence surrounded the six as they thought about how likely the last statement was.

"What do we do when Ichigo wakes up?" Chad asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to need you guys to help me keep him down," Isshin nodded at Uryuu and Chad, "I don't want him running out after Rukia-chan just yet."

"Good thing it's the weekend," Orihime added, "We have Saturday and Sunday to figure things out before this gets to the school."

This time Uryuu groaned as he rubbed his temples. "I don't think two days is enough time. Kurosaki is going to need more than that to get better and go after Kuchiki. Not to mention it might take a couple of days before anything really happens."

Immediately Orihime's face fell and she looked at her feet. Just when she finally got over Kurosaki-kun, his love life gets twisted upside-down. She felt bad for him, this time not as a secret admirer but as a dear friend.

Urahara pulled out his fan from inside his sleeve, and started fanning himself like he always did when he was in deep thought. "Then I guess you three might have to think of some excuse for the two."

"And not to mention you should get to school and intercept any fax or mail that might contain this issue or of Rukia's transfer. If I'm guessing it correctly, her brother will most likely pull her out of Karakura High School and send her to another school by next week."

Chad nodded. "I have to go to school early tomorrow morning to help with our sports club. I'll go there earlier and keep an eye out for them."

Yoruichi nodded. "And since I'm still listed as her roommate, I can write up some excuse that she's ill and won't be coming to school until she gets better."

"And I'll think of something for Ichigo," Isshin added, "I can just lie that one of his sisters got extremely ill and was sent to the hospital. I'm sure Ishida-kun's father is willing to write a believable letter back at Tokyo," he grinned at the young man.

Uryuu's face fell at the thought of his father. "Are you sure Ryuuken will be willing enough to write something like this?"

"Why not? He owes me," Isshin snorted.

"But would Kurosaki-kun's sister like the idea of being used for this lie?" Orihime's eyebrows wiggled in concern.

"Don't worry," Isshin told her, "Karin and Yuzu really love Rukia-chan and thinks of her as their sister. I'm sure they would do anything to see her back with Ichigo and making me grandchildren."

Yoruichi smirked. "Same old Isshin."

"And I'm damn proud of it," he gave her a thumb's up.

Urahara chuckled, happy to see some improvement in the air. "So, what shall we do when Kurosaki-kun wakes up?"

"I know what I'm going to do," Isshin said as he slammed his fist into his open palm, "I'm first going to beat his ass for lying to me, and then I'm going to beat him up for being so weak that he couldn't protect his woman."

"I have a lecture prepared," Uryuu added.

"I'll take Ichigo out to exercise his stress off," Chad raised his arm.

"Then I'll make him my special soup! It's made with chicken broth and sweet bean paste along with honey and mustard. It'll bring his mood right back up!" Orihime pumped her arms into the air with enthusiasm, although the others were turning slightly green.

Yoruichi shook her head as she laughed. "Looks like maybe things are going to turn out alright after all."

"Of course it will," Urahara winked at her, "It took us so long to get those two together, there's no way we can just sit here and watch all our hard work go to waste."

"Touché, my love," Yoruichi smirked.

---

Rukia stared out the dark window as the rain continued to collide with her window. She was lying on her giant bed in the room she had left over five years ago. Nothing had changed but the person now occupying it.

The very place she hated. The very place she had been trying to escape all this time. In the end, she was back to the very place she wanted to leave behind forever. It seemed she had been only going around in circles.

It's been over three hours since Rukia was shoved back into this confiding room by her brother's bodyguard and the door was locked from the other side. It was almost like her room finally became a prison. And for the past three hours she stayed completely still with the lights off as she lied on her bed, her eyes with a far away look as they peered passed her window and at the crazy downpour that seemed to be crying her tears for her.

Rukia barely heard the knocking on her door.

"…_Rukia?"_

Her ears suddenly perked up as she heard a familiar voice, but ignored it as she continued to act dead.

"_Rukia,_" the person called out again as he—the voice clearly that of a man—continued to knock. "_I brought you some food._"

Rukia heard the lock being undone outside and someone coming in, but she remained still in her position, only thinking it was a butler who would leave after he dropped off her meal. But after hearing the sound of the tray getting placed on her desk, she heard footsteps coming closer to her. She flinched when she felt weight pushing down the other side of the bed and when the man placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Rukia."

Finally recognizing the voice, Rukia looked up to see the familiar red head of her childhood friend. Immediately, the tears that had stopped an hour ago finally started up again.

Renji smiled. "Rukia. How have you been?"

Rukia's lower lip trembled as she sat up and wrapped her arms around her friend. "R-Renji! Wha—who?"

He just smiled as he held her back. "It's okay now. I'm here."

"R-Renji," she choked again, "I—Niisama, he…he—Ichi—"

"Shh," he patted her head, "Don't worry. It's going to be okay. Your back home where you should be and nobody is going to hurt you anymore."

Rukia's shoulders stiffened and her sobbing started to die down. As his words started to sink in, she pulled away to stare up at him. "W-what?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

Renji continued smiling. "That's right. That Kurosaki-bastard can't touch you anymore."

"Kuro—Ichigo?" Rukia's breathing started to slow down and she detached herself from Renji. "Yo-you know a-about Ichigo?"

Renji tried to reach out for her again but Rukia slid away from him on the bed. He sighed as he tried to reason with her with his eyes. "Of course I know. I'm the one who discovered you guys and told your brother."

"You—"

"You owe me now," he smirked, "After all, I'm the one who saved you from that fucked up teacher."

Rukia's eyes widened as she slipped off her bed. "I-Ichigo," she breathed.

Renji nodded. "I was hoping the rumor I started back at Karakura high school would have been enough to get him but I guess it didn't reach the principal's ears fast enough. So I had no choice but to go to your brother. It took a while but once I did, he quickly took care of everything."

Rukia started to back off as Renji also got off her bed. Her eyes were wide as plates as she continued to gape at him. "You started that rumor?"

Renji nodded.

"But…but why?"

This time a frown appeared as Renji looked at her. "Why? Isn't it obvious? That citrus head was using you and keeping you captive back at his place."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, "And how did you know I was living with him?"

"Well, when we came over to visit that guy's apartment for a study session, I went back to walk you home but noticed you never came out." A dark expression quickly appeared on Renji's face as he thought back to that day. "I was so close to going in there and beating the shit out of that guy but I decided to do this quietly in case people get the wrong idea about you." He approached her, shaking his head as he continued. "Let's not talk about that now. I'm angry just thinking about it."

Rukia's heart started beating faster and her body tensed up. "It was you," she whispered before anger took the best of her and she yelled at him. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Renji was taken aback by her certain outburst. "W-What do you mean it's my fault? I did what I could to save you—"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Rukia yelled. "Because of you Ichigo might be in danger!"

Renji glared when he heard her using Kurosaki's name so familiarly. "Why are you acting like I did a bad thing?"

"Because you did!" she screeched as her tears welled up. "If it wasn't for you I would still be with Ichigo and niisama wouldn't have attacked him!"

Anger started to bubble up inside him as he noticed her obvious distress over the matter. "You were being manipulated by him!"

"No I wasn't! I wanted to be with him!" Rukia yelled. "Why did you have to interfere?!"

"Because I was looking out for you!" Renji shouted, "Why can't you see that that dumbass teacher was just using you to get a piece of ass—" his words got abruptly cut off when Rukia slapped him across the face, sending his head flying off to the side.

Time seemed to stand still as Rukia's teary eyes glared at him. "Congratulations," she said, "You have just successfully fucked up our friendship. From now on, don't you dare come near me."

Renji stayed frozen in his spot, his cheek burning hot as Rukia turned around to walk away. But the second she took her third step, a growl came from the back of his throat as his eyes narrowed into slits. He took a giant stepped towards her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into his embrace.

"Renji! What are you—"

This time Rukia's words got cut off when Renji suddenly smashed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in shock as she stood stiff, not really sure what was happening. But the moment she felt his tongue run across her lips, she was brought back to reality and quickly pushed him off of her.

"What's wrong with you?!" she screamed as she quickly wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "Why did you do that?! Are you that determine to terminate whatever is left of our friendship?"

"Friendship, yes!" he shouted back, "Because I want to be someone more than that to you!"

Rukia's eyebrows narrowed as she snorted. "Are you crazy?"

"No!" he quickly responded, "I loved you ever since I could remember and I wanted to take our relationship to the next level but that fucking circus-clown suddenly came in and ruined everything!"

Rukia gasped as she stepped back. "Wait a second," she held up her hands, "Are you trying to say you actually wanted to ask me out?" she cringed at the thought, "What made you think I would want to jeopardize our long time friendship by suddenly going out with you? And Ichigo didn't ruin anything since there was nothing like _that_ between you and me in the first place!"

"There would have been! I was planning on asking you out when we graduated!"

"What kind of stupid excuse is that?!"

"A valid one, considering who your brother is!" Renji's face reddened from both embarrassment and anger.

Rukia took another step back and shook her head. "It never would have happened even if Ichigo didn't come," she said, calmly this time, "I don't love you like that."

A sharp pain ran across Renji's chest as he took a step forward. "You don't know that. There might have been a chance if only—"

"Stop it," she took several more steps back, "I don't want to think about 'maybe's.' I love Ichigo and I'm happy—well, I _was _happy before you went and told niisama everything."

At her sudden confession, Renji's hands rolled into fists and he saw nothing but red. "What?"

Rukia remained quiet as she tried to get away, but Renji continued to follow her.

"Y-you…you love him?" he asked.

"Yes," Rukia swallowed as she noticed that the room was starting to feel small, "I love him."

Renji came to a sudden stop, much to Rukia's relief, as he continued to stare at her as if she was crazy. "Does he love you?"

Rukia looked straight into his eyes and nodded. "He loves me."

"That's bullshit!" Renji slammed his fist against the wall to his side, breaking through the drywall.

Rukia gasped by his sudden show of violence, and she took the last step before her back hit against the wall.

Renji's shoulders heaved up and down as his breathing became labored and his eyes gave off a murderous glare. "That fucking guy is just spouting out lies to get in between your legs!"

"And you would know?" Rukia glared the moment he continued dissing Ichigo, "I know Ichigo and he loves me—"

"Stop calling him by his name!" he shouted at her, "You sound like you already slept…" his voice slowly died off but his eyes widened at the realization. "You already did, didn't you?"

Rukia bit the inside her mouth as she looked away.

That was all she had to do for him to understand. Renji gasped as he took a few steps back this time. "No fucking way," he muttered.

"Like I said, I love him and he loves me back. What's so wrong with showing each other our feelings?" Rukia asked, though she still wasn't looking at him. She remained still, waiting for him to scream, yell, punch or just all out destroy things but nothing happened. The room remained silent for several seconds before she heard Renji's low laugh. She looked up to see his head facing downwards, blocking out his eyes, as his shoulders shook up and down.

Renji's laughter slowly increased and he threw his head back to laugh out loud. "That's just fucking great! Now Kuchiki-sama has a new reason to get that bastard arrested! Not only did he sprout out lies about loving you to get you to live with him, but you two fucked each other! And I bet he knew about your inheritance too!"

The discomfort from hearing Renji's menacing laughter remained but Rukia glared at him. "Don't be stupid. Ichigo doesn't care about my inheritance; he didn't even know anything about this until a month ago! And we've been together since summer—"

"I don't want to hear this!" Renji suddenly shouted as his eyes turned red with rage. "I don't care so you better not bring him up again!" Without even waiting for her to retort, Renji quickly pushed passed her and headed to the door. He slammed the door shut after him and leaned against the wall to control his breathing.

Just the thought of that guy holding _his_ Rukia and whispering sweet nothings into her ear while making love was making his blood boil. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Rukia was supposed to be his and they were supposed to live happily ever after. But some dumbass suddenly entered the picture and took away the one good thing in his world.

Renji was about to slam his fist against the wall again, cursing everything and everyone. His heart was being ripped to shreds and things just got worse when he heard crying from the other side of the door. His arm fell limp as he stared at the ground, slightly dumbfounded, before leaning his ear against the door to hear more clearly.

No doubt about it. Rukia was crying out loud in her room.

And he was the cause of it.

"_Congratulations. You have just successfully fucked up our friendship. From now on, don't you dare come near me."_

Rukia's words ran over and over again in his head and Renji's logical mind started to come back.

He did it.

He finally fucked up his friendship with Rukia.

Renji slumped against the wall and slid down it as he listened to Rukia's nonstop crying.

_It wasn't suppose to go like this._

_

* * *

_A/N: Sooooooo...how was it? I kinda liked this chapter since it finally gave answers to many of the questions you guys have been asking. And YES, Renji was the one who started the rumor and told Byakuya about Ichigo and Rukia. Why him and not Orihime? Allow me to _finally _explain:

I included Orihime's little speech in the beginning to show her intelligent insight on her relationship with Ichigo and the consequences if she had exposed the truth. She's not stupid to do something irrational which would destroy any chance of having Ichigo for herself (since she would pretty much be blackmailing him to be with her) and also their friendship. She has always given me the impression that, beneath that ditzy exterior, she knows and understand her friends the best.

However, the very thing Orihime decided not to do and successfully avoided, was done by Renji. Even though he's a good friend of Rukia's, his pride was damaged when she was taken away by someone she just met. Also, his hot-headed-ness played a role, which can be seen above when he was comforting Rukia. He never really saw their relationship as merely just 'friendship' but as something more. So he started the rumor and then told Byakuya. He thought this would bring her back to him since he 'saved' her from a perverted teacher, but never realized that he was actually wrong in his assumptions. In the end, he realized his mistake _after_ making things worse between him and Rukia. And now that Renji realized his mistake, the next chapter will show him trying to fix the wrongs before it's too late.

I hope this explanation clears up a lot of things for you guys. I don't want others to feel confused about this. I really wanted to write this chapter because it shows the value of friendship and intelligence of these two characters who have been suffering from one-sided love for so long.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!!

Preview for next chapter:

Ichigo is finally awake and is waiting for the opportunity to get back Rukia.


	23. 23 Friends III

**Author's Note: HELLO! And to any Americans out there, HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!! I'm so excited with all the fireworks right now. I'm quickly uploading this and then I have to leave so there might be more errors than usual. Sorry.**

**But, THANK YOU for all the reviews! You guys know how much they mean to me. And I'm glad to know so many people liked my explanation of Inoue and Renji's character. They were really hard to express properly in this story but it seems like it worked out. Ichigo finally wakes up in this chapter and we get to see him trying to figure out how to get back Rukia. There is a break after the flashback and from there several days have passed since the start of this chapter. Hopefully nobody gets confused by this.**

**Please read and have fun!  
**

**Disclaimer:  
**

* * *

Chapter 23: I Need Her/Friends III

* * *

Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes. There was no sun. Instead the rain was colliding against his window and it was causing a lot of ruckus. Closing his eyes for more sleep, he flipped over to his side and reached for Rukia. "Hey, it's fucking raining again," he groaned.

But his words died down when his arm fell on an empty spot next to him, the bedcover and pillow cold from lack of use.

"Rukia," Ichigo called out as he eyes opened again but he didn't see her anywhere. He was about to call out for her again but yelped when he tried to sit up. He looked down to see his body bandaged up and his muscles feeling extremely sore. "What the—" Suddenly everything came back to his head.

The cold demon inside their dark apartment.

His crazy followers ripping Rukia away from him.

The screaming and the punches.

Rukia.

"Rukia—" Ichigo gasped as he strained his body to sit up.

"DON'T BE FOOLISH MY SON!"

"AH!" Ichigo screamed both in shock and in pain when his father suddenly flew through his door and landed straight on Ichigo's abdomen, forcing his son back down on his back. "What the fuck—" he groaned as he tried to push his father off of him.

Isshin just grinned down at him. "You can't possibly move with that body of yours. So why don't you just lie down and let daddy take care of you."

Ichigo groaned as he strained under his father. "Bastard, I don't have time for this! I need to get to Rukia!"

"Sorry but I can't let you do that," Isshin shook his head as he jumped off his son and sat on the chair that was next to the bed. "You have to stay still until your injuries heal up. Luckily none of your ribs broke but several muscles have been pulled. If you move now you will only end up worse."

"I don't care," Ichigo groaned, "I need to get to her."

"She's not going anywhere," Isshin said, "So just wait a few more days—"

"I can't wait another second!" Ichigo yelled but gasped when his stomach started to spasm. He fell back on the bed and tried to keep his screams at bay.

Isshin remained still as he watched his son struggle in pain. He sighed as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I understand you miss her, but you're not helping the situation. If you go to her now…" he paused to look at his son who was looking back at him, "…You'll only put her in more danger."

Ichigo's body stiffened as his struggles came to a halt. Beads of sweat fell down his brow as he stared off into nothingness. His father's word swirled around his head, trying to make sense of it.

"Why couldn't you have waited until she graduated?" Isshin asked almost as if he was pleading.

Instead of answering, Ichigo fell back on the bed and the muscles in his face relaxed, though his eyes were void of any emotion.

"Ichigo?"

"You're right," he suddenly spoke up, "I was too busy thinking about being with her that I forgot my sense of logic."

Isshin frowned. "I'm not saying you did wrong—"

"But I did," Ichigo cut in, "I couldn't stop my hormones from getting the best of me. In the end I was so afraid of losing her that our relationship started too quickly. And now, she's gone."

A silence surrounded the room as Ichigo stared at the ceiling above him and Isshin stared at his son. The older man grunted as he stood up from his chair to sit on the bed, though keeping his back at his son. He folded his arms on top of his legs and stared at them this time. "I admit what you did was fucking stupid," he said and then smirked, "But you did it out of love. And I believe that's the most valid reason in this world."

"Enough to destroy the life of the one you love?" Ichigo asked.

Isshin paused to tilt his head back smiling at his son. "As long as you can get her back and love her forever." He quickly got up and left the dark bedroom, leaving Ichigo to continue thinking about what he said.

When Ichigo heard the door close, he finally turned his head to stare off to the opposite wall. On it was a smashed picture frame that was holding up a picture of him with Rukia and his family during summer vacation at the beach. He remembered the day she put it up…

_Flashback_

"_When did you get that?"_

_Rukia looked at him and frowned. "The picture? We took it the last day we were at the beach. Don't you remember?"_

_Ichigo glared at her. "Dumbass. I know about the picture. I'm talking about the frame," he said as he pointed to it. "It's ugly."_

"_It is not ugly!" Rukia shrieked as she kicked his shin. "Chappy is really cute."_

"_How can you call this cute?!" Ichigo snapped her as he hopped on one leg._

_Rukia glared at him, pushing him off to one side so she could finish hammering the nail into the wall. "This is so annoying," she muttered to herself as she stood on her toes._

_Ichigo watched her straining her arms for several seconds but he sighed when she almost hit her thumb for the tenth time. "Give me that," he ordered as he took the hammer from Rukia's grip._

"_What are you doing?" she asked him._

"_I'm hammering in the nail for you," he said, "You'll end up hurting yourself if I let you continue."_

"_Are you saying I'm incompetent?"_

_Ichigo rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just telling you you're too short, midget."  
_

_Rukia kicked his shin again and left the room after getting a satisfying yelp from him._

_End of Flashback_

A small smile tugged on his lips as he thought about the smallest of things that was reminding him of Rukia. She had already become such a part of his life that he couldn't go or look anywhere without images of her cute face popping up. Even the fights they had were memorable. No matter what, even the smallest things he complained about would get her so mad at him that he would have bruises all over his leg from her vicious kicks. It wasn't that he liked those kinds of foreplay, but he just thought it was too cute when her eyebrows furrowed and her lower lip stuck out into a pout.

The smile quickly died when he thought about his current situation. The scared look on her beautiful face when she was being dragged away broke his heart. If his father hadn't stepped in the moment he did, Ichigo might have gone crazy and killed anyone who was trying to keep Rukia away from him.

A sigh passed his chapped lips as he rolled onto his stomach. He winced slightly from the pain but quickly relaxed when he grabbed Rukia's pillow and inhaled it deeply under him. The sweet lavender scent filled his entire body and made him feel light.

It was like a drug. And he was totally addicted to it.

Soon, the smell lulled him to sleep.

---

"_So how's Ichi-nii doing?_"

"Don't worry about him, my angel. Your big brother is a strong man, though not as strong as me—"

"_I didn't ask about you!"_ Karin yelled.

Isshin threw his head back and laughed out loud. "My dear daughter, do not worry too much. Everything will be alright."

A sigh came from the other end of the phone. "_Fine. Just call us if anything happens."_

"Of course I will," Isshin replied, "After all, you so graciously agreed to help your brother by acting deadly ill. I'll make sure you're the first person Ichigo calls when Rukia-chan comes back to us."

"_Still, I can't believe she's in high school. They sure did fool us,_" she groaned.

Isshin smiled. "I think it's kinky."

"_Shut up! I don't want to know about that!"_ she yelled before slamming the phone down, ending the call. Isshin just kept his grin as he gently placed the phone back into its receiver. He took a look around the room and noticed how the rain hadn't let up yet. January was coming to an end but for some reason it didn't stop raining. Only two days ago it snowed for a while but it quickly melted away when it started to rain again.

It seemed Masaki was crying for her son in heaven.

Ichigo, who was finally able to get up after doing nothing but lying on his bed for several days straight, started cleaning up his room. It was still a mess from when Byakuya came and packed up Rukia's stuff. Thankfully neither his father nor his friends touched anything and left everything for Ichigo to clean up. Not that he liked doing this but it allowed him to keep his mind occupied while waiting for his body to recover.

He sighed as he rearranged the books on his desk. Everything felt like it was on hold with Rukia gone. And since he didn't have to go to school, it gave him time to think about what he could do once he got to the Kuchiki mansion…

Which was another problem since he didn't know where it was.

Frustrated with all the thinking, Ichigo pulled out his chair and sat down. He buried his head in his hands as he tried to remember anything Rukia might have said to give him hints on where it might be, but he was just drawing up blanks.

"This is fucked up," he muttered as he looked around his desk. After he and Rukia started sleeping together, she barely used the other room again. She pretty much moved all of her stuff into his room so maybe… "There's gotta be something here," he told himself as he started rummaging through his stuff again.

Ichigo looked between his books and his stack of ungraded papers. Nothing. He pulled open each drawers. Nothing. He checked the bookshelf. Nothing. He even looked inside and under the pencil holder. Still nothing.

A good thirty minutes passed when he sat back down with a more hopeless expression.

"That bastard did a really good job taking all of Rukia' stuff," he huffed. Now it seemed even more impossible to get back Rukia, no matter what kind of state he was in.

He dropped his head on his desk and merely let his eyes roam around the desk and the opened drawers. He grunted as he stretched to close the top drawer when a small glimmer caught his eyes. Ichigo lifted his head as his fingers reached inside and pulled out a random object.

"What the…" His voice got caught in his throat when he realized what he was looking at.

A Chappy the rabbit cell phone charm that he had picked up the first day he met Rukia.

Even though people would have called him unmanly, it didn't stop Ichigo from letting a tear slip out of his eye and landing on the desk. But seriously, who could blame him? Here he was, holding the very object that represented the very day he met his soulmate.

But it was also the day that they had signed their faith.

_Knock knock_

"Who is it?" Ichigo asked, his voice slightly choking as he continued to stare at the ugly rabbit.

Isshin gently opened the door and walked over to the desk. "I brought you some hot chocolate. Yuzu called and told me your mother's recipe. Here."

Ichigo merely nodded but didn't even accept the mug his father was holding out to him.

Noticing his son was entranced with something else, Isshin placed the hot beverage on the desk before sitting on the bed to stare at his son's still form. "What's that?" he asked.

"Rukia's charm," Ichigo smiled as he twirled the string in between his fingers. "She dropped it the very first day we met. Now that I think about it, I forgot to give it back to her and it just got lost in my drawer."

"Looks cute."

"Psch," Ichigo snorted, "I'm sick of seeing this ugly thing around the apartment. But Rukia won't let me get rid of anything Chappy related or else she would kick me."

Isshin chuckled. "I always knew you'd get a woman who could kick your ass. Just like your mother and me."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I really thought I found the one."

"You did find _the_ one," Isshin corrected him.

But Ichigo just sighed as he sat up straight and fisted the charm in his hand. "What makes you so sure? I don't even know where to start looking for her and there isn't much time left!" He turned around and looked straight into his father's eyes with lots of emotions: exhaustion, suffering, longing and desperateness. "What if I can't get her back?"

Isshin glared at his son. "Why are you asking such stupid questions? Do you doubt Rukia-chan's love for you? Do you doubt your own heart?"

"No, that's not what I'm—"

"Then stop stalling and go after her!" Isshin snapped at him with blazing eyes. "Do not question something when the answer is already in front of you."

"But how do I get to her?" Ichigo asked, his voice begging for some kind of help.

Isshin shook his head. "I don't know since I don't know much about Rukia-chan," he said, "But you do. So think. Who can you ask for help?"

Ichigo opened his palm and stared down at the charm in his hand. "Ishida already tried to get some info about the Kuchiki's but it was restricted. And Chad got absolutely nothing about transferring or whatnot. It seemed Rukia just…vanished."

"Well, that's not possible since you're holding the very proof that she was here and waiting for you somewhere," Isshin told him. He reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "You just started. I'm sure you're overlooking something that's right in front of you."

As his thumb traced over Rukia's name on the phone strap he asked, "Why did you come here anyways, dad?"

Isshin looked at him before reaching into his pocket. He rummaged around for awhile before pulling something out. "Because I wanted to give you this." He grabbed Ichigo's free hand and placed a small box in his palm. "I wanted to give it to you as a Christmas present but I didn't want Rukia-chan to find out."

Ichigo blinked when his father removed his hand for him to look at the box thoroughly. It was a small black box, and when Ichigo opened it, he couldn't stop a gasp. "This is…"

Isshin nodded. "Your mother's engagement ring. I want you to give it to Rukia-chan."

"Dad—"

"I know Masaki would have wanted this," Isshin smiled slightly, "Give it to her and I promise you two will be as happy as we were."

Ichigo stared at his father before looking down at the glimmering diamond ring in the center of the box. He had to admit, his father had picked out a really beautiful ring for his mother, and it would look even more perfect if it was on Rukia.

A smile came across Ichigo's face as he gripped the box tightly in one hand and Rukia's old cell phone charm in the other. "Thanks dad," he said. His eyes suddenly became ablaze with new determination as his brain started functioning properly again. Isshin could literally see plans forming inside.

Isshin nodded. "Anything for you. Now go get her and give me grandchildren."

Instead of retaliating like he usually does, Ichigo just nodded. "I'll be back," he said before grabbing his jacket and rushing out the door.

Isshin remained in his spot on the bed as he heard the front door click shut. A warm smile spread across his face. "See Masaki? I told you I did a good job with our son."

_You sure did._

---

Ichigo quickly knocked on the door and waited as he heard noises from the other side.

"_Just a second_," someone called out before he heard the locks being undone and the door swinging open. The person on the other side of the door gasped. "Ichigo? What are you doing here this late? I thought you were in Tokyo."

Ichigo shook his head. "No time for that. Can I come inside?"

The person frowned before stepping aside. "You're lucky my parents are out right now."

"Thanks," he said as he went inside and closed the door behind him. "Tatsuki, I really need your help."

The young woman crossed her arms and continued to frown. "With what? It's a bit suspicious when your teacher suddenly comes over so late without warning."

"I'm not here right now as your teacher," Ichigo told her.

"What?"

Ichigo took a deep breath before he fell down on his knees in front of his old childhood neighbor.

"Ichigo?!" she gasped. And she got even more surprised when he placed both hands on the floor and bowed his head.

"Please," he said in a small but desperate tone, "I need your help not as your teacher…but as your best friend's boyfriend."

Silence.

The two remained very still in their positions as the rain storm continued outside. Finally, after what seemed liked forever to Ichigo, she responded. "WHAT?!"

Ichigo kept his head down. "I need you to help me get back Rukia."

Tatsuki's jaw fell to the floor and she was gaping at him like a fish. "R-Ru—Rukia? _Kuchiki _Rukia? _MY _Rukia?!"

"Yes," he answered, not flinching even once as she shouted at him.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Tatsuki reached over and grabbed his collar to pull him up towards her. "You mean to say you're involved with Rukia?!"

Ichigo nodded.

Her eyes suddenly darkened with rage as she raised a fist and slammed it across his cheek. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

Ichigo groaned as the pain spread across his entire face with even more intensity since she punched the same spot Byakuya's bodyguards punched him several days ago. "I am aware. But right now, it's more important to save Rukia before you start lecturing me."

His words suddenly sent shockwaves through her body, freezing her before she could throw another punch. "What do you mean 'save her'?"

Ichigo looked up at her before saying, "Her brother found out. A few days ago he came and took her away."

Tatsuki's grip immediately came undone as she took a step back. "N-no way. That guy actually came here?!"

Again Ichigo nodded.

"AUGH!" She ran her hair through her short hair as she started muttering incoherent words. "I can't—that dick—Ru—shit—"

Ichigo, who fell back on the floor, just watched as he waited for her to get it out of her system.

"Son of a—police—damn—mhmm—crap—prison—"

"You done?" Ichigo asked.

Tatsuki glared at him. "It's your fucking fault Rukia is back in that hellhole."

Another weight of guilt fell on his shoulders. Ichigo looked down at his fisted hands on top of his bent knees. "I know. That's why I have to get her back and make up for it all."

Another round of silence enveloped them as Tatsuki continued to glare at him. "How can I possibly trust you when you took advantage of my best friend?!"

"I didn't use her!" Ichigo snapped at her, this time glaring, "I love her!"

Tatsuki was taken aback by his sudden confession. She gapped at him before clenching her fists again. "Yeah right! How can I believe—"

"Believe me," Ichigo said, staring straight into her eyes with every form of seriousness.

To say it startled Tatsuki to see her old babysitter looking at her with so much emotion would be an understatement. But she did well on concealing her shock by grabbing his collar again. "If you go back on your words, I won't hesitate to call the cops."

Ichigo didn't even flinch. "I'll hand you the phone."

With a nod, Tatsuki released her hold and went to the living room. "I don't know her address but I have an idea who might."

"Who? Matsumoto? Hinamori?" Ichigo asked, not liking the idea of having more people know about his _secret_ relationship with Rukia.

Thankfully, Tatsuki shook her head. "Just hold on a sec." she said to him as she grabbed her phone and started to dial a number. She held the phone up to her ear and waited for the call to go through. "Hello? Yes, this is Arisawa Tatsuki. How have you been? Yeah, well, I actually have a question. I wanted to know his new phone number…yes…what was that again?" she asked before slowly walking off to her room to speak more privately.

Noticing there was nothing he could do but wait, Ichigo walked over to the living room and sat down on the black couch. He looked around noticing that much has changed since he last visited the Arisawa house. There were trophies and certificates of all the martial art competition Tatsuki and her family have won over the years. It sure did bring back memories…

"Okay, he'll be here in a few hours," Tatsuki announced when she came back.

"Who?"

She smirked at him. "You'll see."

--Few Hours Later--

"No fucking way."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "He's the only one who can help you now so suck up your stupid pride and listen to him."

Ichigo crossed his arms in front of his face, making an 'x.' "I don't care. He's the last guy I want to help me."

"Eugh, you're being stupid," she groaned.

"Leave him be, Tatsuki. I'm sure he's still angry with what happened a few months ago," the other person said.

Tatsuki looked up at him and before frowning at Ichigo. "Don't tell me you're still stuck up about that?!"

"Maybe."

"Errr," she growled, "Ichigo, that was a long time ago! Besides, Renji didn't do it for no reason!"

"Then why did he do it?!" he snapped back.

Renji scratched his head in irritation. "Well, what do you expect when you find out the girl you've been in love with since forever is suddenly going out with some other dude? Not to mention they live together."

Tatsuki nodded. "See Ichigo? He had a rea…son…" her voice trailed off as she looked at her friend, "What?"

"How did you find out about me and Rukia?" Ichigo asked his face suddenly serious from the unexpected information.

Renji groaned, knowing he was going to get hit again. "Well, that day when we went over to your apartment for a study group…when Rukia ran back to grab something, I decided to wait outside and walk her home. But…she never came back out."

Ichigo eyes widened.

"And since you lived only on the second floor, I could see things really clearly," he continued, "I saw you two kissing and suddenly the lights went off. After that, well…"

Tatsuki's eyebrows narrowed. "Don't tell me you were the one who started the rumor of Ichigo living with a student."

Instead of answering, Renji merely looked away. But that was enough to give the other two the truth.

"Tsk," Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he looked away, "I guess it could be seen as some sort of reason. Thankfully we didn't get caught by the school, so I guess I'll just let this one slide."

Now at this point a sensible person would have stop, but Renji couldn't get rid of Rukia's tear-stained face from his mind. If she wouldn't hit him like the scum he really was, then getting beaten up by her boyfriend would have to do. "There's more."

The two looked back at him. "What?"

Renji lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "I was the one who told Kuchiki Byakuya-sama about you living with Rukia!"

Silence.

Then…_SMACK!_

"Eugh!" Renji groaned as he flew back, but he didn't land on anything when a strong hand grabbed his collar and pulled him back up.

"WHAT?!" Ichigo screamed up at his face.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki pulled back his other arm to stop the second punch, "Stop this!"

"Why should I?!" he yelled at her, "It's because of this punk that Rukia got taken away!"

"But at least he's offering to help now!" she tried to reason with him but it wasn't working.

Ichigo growled again as he tried to deliver the second punch. "How can I believe him?! He might be trying to lead me into a trap and separate me from Rukia for good!"

"But still—"

"Tatsuki."

The young woman looked over to see her friend, head facing down, talking to her with a cut lip. "It's okay. Let him hit me. I deserve it."

"Renji…"

"It's okay really," he said as he looked up with a small sad smirk on the corner of his mouth. "I would feel a hell of a lot better if I get the light punched out of me. If he doesn't do it, I might ask someone else to do it instead."

Tatsuki bit her lower lip before slowly releasing Ichigo's arm. The moment it was free, Ichigo threw another hard punch, sending Renji out of his grasp and on the ground.

"Ack," Renji gasped as he tried to sit back up. He brought up a hand and wiped away some blood on his face before looking up at Ichigo. He didn't say anything but was silently telling him that he was ready for more.

Ichigo glared at his former student, sitting with a bloody lip and nose, waiting for him to deliver even more hits.

"_He's my best friend."_

A soft memory in the snow flashed through Ichigo's head.

"_When I ran away from home he and his family quickly took me in and cared for me."_

Ichigo continued to stare at the young man who was clenching his eyes shut, waiting for the next hit. His entire body was tense, obviously knowing the hits were going to be extremely painful. But he flinched when a hand lightly landed on top of his head. His eyes flew open and looked up.

"That's enough," Ichigo said to him, "If I continue, Rukia would get mad at me."

Renji just stared at him before looking down again. "You don't have to worry about that. I ruined our friendship the moment I told her brother. And things got even worse when I forced a kiss on her."

The hand on Renji's head twitched a bit as it slipped off.

"You what?" Tatsuki gapped at him.

He looked away. "I was kinda stupid and thought Rukia was being taken advantage by Kurosaki. But when she kept defending him…I kissed her to try and force her to see the 'light,'" he air-quoted.

"You're no help," she groaned, "You're just made this worse."

"She pretty much yelled at me that our friendship is now over." His fists tightened as he glared at the ground. "I know I fucked up but I want to help her before I fuck things up even more."

The other two remained silent for awhile before she snorted. "At least you noticed your wrongdoing."

"…Yeah."

Ichigo just exhaled a deep breath to calm himself, forcing him to repeat Rukia's words in his mind. "That doesn't matter since she really cares about you." He paused when Renji looked back up at him. "Besides, she makes quick decisions that she doesn't keep later on. When things calm down, I know she would want to fix your friendship."

Renji's eyes immediately softened as memories of the good ol'times flashed before him as Tatsuki ran over to help her friend up. "You're lucky," she smiled at him.

Renji nodded, also with a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I really am."

"So, how can we get to Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

Renji looked at him and smirked. "Easy. Through the front door."

* * *

A/N: …

The ending is not really up to my taste, since I kinda ended the fight between Ichigo and Renji really quickly…but I have to go meet up with my friends for some fireworks so I can't write any more!!! Sorry, but I hope this was good enough. Here, I wanted to show Renji finally getting back his senses by agreeing to help out Ichigo. Just like in the SS arc in the manga, he first does something wrong (because of a misunderstanding) but quickly tries to make up for it. I really liked writing this part but it just didn't end well...

It wasn't until a several chapters ago that I remembered I never wrote about what happened to the phone charm so I decided to use it here and I think it was a good thing. And for those of you who think it's impossible for Ichigo or Rukia to forget that phone charm, I came up with two decent explanations:

1) Ichigo is so messy that he just piled things in his drawer and the charm got lost.

2) Ever since Rukia met Ichigo, thing has been so hectic that she had forgotten about the charm.

Do these sound good? Hopefully.

And if anyone is curious, I added something sweet after Isshin's last words before he got cut off. I'm sure you guys already figured it out but that was suppose to be Masaki, whispering to him. The reason I put that in here was to show that her spirit is always with her family, watching over them and supporting them in silence. So I just included a sweet sentence to bring out some "awwww" from the readers. But it's not anything big so don't think it's going to play a part later on…because it's not.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to REVIEW!

Next chapter:

Breaking into the Kuchiki Mansion...and is Ichigo wearing a wig? O.o


	24. 24 Getting You Back

**Author's Note: HERE IS THE NEW CHAPTER!!!!!! Sorry for the delay. Things haven't been working as well as I wanted them to this week so I haven't really been up to writing. With stress from work, money problem, and this century old computer continuing to crash down on me, I'm about to rip my head off. Which means, yes there are more errors here and yes this chapter isn't the best. But please bare with me and review this chapter. I'd greatly appreciate it.  
**

**Ichigo finally comes to to get back Rukia but in order to reach her he needs to get through the front door first. Read and see what happens!**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 24: Getting You Back

* * *

"This is the stupidest plan I have ever heard."

"I agree."

Renji rolled his eyes. "Com'on, don't you guys trust me?"

"No," Tatsuki and Ichigo said simultaneously.

"Wow, thanks a lot."

Tatsuki sighed as she pulled her hat lower. "Look, it's just that if what Rukia had told me about her brother is true, then it's most likely that he has all his men looking out for this orange head here."

Ichigo quickly slapped her pointing finger away from his face. "I agree," he said, reluctantly, "Isn't there another way to go through this?"

Renji shook his head. "Look, if you want to get Rukia without her brother coming after you, then you have to make this as clean as possible. Go to Byakuya and try to reason with him."

"Impossible," Ichigo waved his hand left and right, "That Satan's incarnate will have me shot before I can even say a word."

"Kuchiki-sama isn't that harsh," Renji said, "You just have to get on his good side."

"Does that guy even have a 'good' side?" Tatsuki asked, to which Renji replied with an awkward laugh.

"Even if he does, he already has a bad opinion of me," Ichigo told them.

Renji rolled his eyes as if it was the obvious thing in the world. "Che, of course he does. Or did you forget you're shacking up with his little sister?"

Tatsuki gasped as she stared at Ichigo. "You two already slept together?!"

"Jeez, say it a little louder next time why don't you?" Ichigo groaned.

Renji shook his head as they got off the train and made their way out the station. The three of them, after meeting up at the Arisawa residence, quickly got on the train that would take them to the Kuchiki mansion that Rukia was staying at. But Renji told them to wear black clothes and hats to cover up their face—and in Ichigo's case, his outrageous hair—since Byakuya might have already investigated all the people that were associated with Rukia while she was in Karakura.

When they stepped out of the station, Renji quickly called for a cab and the three got in. He quickly told the cab driver the street number before driving away.

"So, how can we get in?" Tatsuki asked.

"Easy," Renji answered, "You two will just pretend to be my bodyguards."

Ichigo snorted. "How would that work?"

"Because I'm also from a pretty rich family," Renji told them, "My great-uncle, with whom I'm staying with right now, has a big business and partners with Kuchiki-sama. That's how Rukia and I met. And since my great-uncle is a bit paranoid, he always assigns bodyguards for his family members. Although I don't need them now, I still let him do as he pleases just to calm him down since he's really old now."

The two remained quiet as they thought over his plan. "This better work," Tatsuki told him, "Or else I'm going to beat you up."

Renji chuckled. "Got it."

Ichigo finally relaxed his tense body, even if only a little, as he sat back and looked out the window. January was almost over and the last month of winter would be on them. Then, there would only be a month before Rukia was supposed to graduate.

Which reminded him that Rukia needed to get back to school as soon as possible before it start affecting her from graduating.

_Flashback_

"_Ne, Ichigo?"_

"_Hmm?" he groaned as he lifted his tired head off the pillow. "What? What is it?"_

_Rukia frowned. "I need your help."_

_The boyfriend merely looked up to peer at the time before groaning again. "Rukia, it's two in the morning. Can't we talk about whatever it is later?"_

"_No," she quickly replied._

_Ichigo sighed as he buried his head into his pillow. "Why?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by his pillow._

"_Because I'm having a hard time figuring out which college to go to."_

_Ichigo sighed. "Why are you bothered by this now? I thought you already had everything planned out."_

"_Well, I did, or at least I thought I did," she mumbled, "But a lot of things changed since last year."_

"_Like what?"_

"…_Like being here with you," she lightly responded._

_Ichigo finally looked back up at her to see a small blush across her cheek. A smile tugged on his lips as he reached out and placed a hand on her warm cheek. "You look too cute when you blush."_

_It only reddened the blush._

"_And I'll help you with pick out a school after I get some sleep." And he quickly buried himself under the cover._

_Rukia just stared at the big lump under the comforter that was being so sweet a moment ago, now snoring away. A big vein popped on her forehead as she grabbed one of Ichigo's big textbook and slammed it down on the top part of the lump. "BASTARD!" she screeched._

_End of Flashback_

Ichigo lightly smiled at how he had to stay up well until the next day to help Rukia with writing her college applications to colleges in and near Karakura. That way she wouldn't have to leave the apartment.

"We're here," Renji announced as he paid their cab driver and stepped out.

Tatsuki and Ichigo quickly followed him and stepped onto an unfamiliar street. "So, where exactly is the Kuchiki house?" Tatsuki asked.

"Down at the end of this street," Renji told her, "I just wanted to get off early so not to bring any suspicion. The guards don't like it when an unfamiliar person or car comes near the place. And I usually walk here anyways so they won't say anything if I just walk up."

"Sounds good," Ichigo stepped forward. "Let's get this over with."

"Just a sec," Tatsuki stopped him and stepped in front of him. "I want to do this before we go any further."

The scowl deepened as Ichigo saw what Tatsuki pulled out of a bag she had brought with her. "You have got to be shitting me."

"Nope," she grinned as she pulled off his hat and placed a long wig over his orange hair. "There."

When Ichigo saw the black strands falling down his face his scowl deepened in pure frustration. "Is this really necessary?!"

Renji just laughed as he pointed a finger at him. "This is priceless! I need a picture to show it to the others later!" he said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Put that thing away!" Ichigo shoved the phone away from his face, but it was too late. Renji got the picture. "Oi!"

"Haha! I can't wait to show Rukia this!" Renji exclaimed as he saved the picture into his phone.

"Let me see!" Tatsuki ran over and both of them peered down at the picture of a scowling Kurosaki Ichigo wearing a long, bowl-cut, black wig that fully covered his orange hair. Sadly it was doing absolutely nothing to help his image. "HAHAHA!"

Ichigo glared at the two as they kept laughing their heads off. "I'm going to kill you two."

"Complain after we get Rukia out," Renji snickered as he returned his phone back into his pants. He looked up and peered at the mansion that was clearly visible from where they were standing. "I still have homework to do for my new school so let's get this over with quickly."

Ichigo and Tatsuki followed slightly behind him as Renji started to lead them to the chilly mansion.

"Just remain quiet and act like you're constipated. They won't suspect a thing that way," Renji informed them as they neared their destination.

The two nodded as they stood before the huge gates.

"Who's there?"

Ichigo looked up to see two men, dressed in the black suit he knew so well, approaching them from the other side of the gate.

"I'm here to talk to Rukia again," Renji told them, "I heard she's still starving herself."

Ichigo clenched his fists to stop himself from saying anything.

One of the bodyguards looked at the two people standing next to Renji. "And them?"

"New bodyguards," Renji pointed back with his thumb, "The old man just won't get rid of them until he's dead."

The two men eyed Ichigo and Tatsuki skeptically, not really sure whether or not to trust these new recruits. "How long will you be staying here today?"

Renji shrugged. "Maybe an hour or two. I just need to check up on her, that's all."

The men finally nodded as one of them pulled out a remote and opened the gates. Renji nodded his thanks and quickly made his way down the long path to the mansion. Ichigo risked taking a small glance back to notice the gates already closed and the two men staring after them cautiously.

_Things might get ugly,_ he dreaded as he remained a foot behind Renji.

When the reached the grand front doors, another two bodyguards reached over and opened the doors for them, but they're eyes were just as cautious and cold as their employee.

Once they passed the doors, and heard it being closed behind them, Renji whispered to the two so only they could hear. "These bodyguards were hand-picked by Kuchiki-sama so they're dangerous. Don't do anything that might cause attention or stray too far from me."

The two gave a small nod just before a butler came up to them and bowed. "Abarai-sama, good to see you again."

"Ah," Renji raised a hand in a greeting gesture, "I'm here for the usual business. Has there been any improvement?"

The old butler shook his head. "When our maids go to pick up the tray of food, barely a bite is taken from her bread. Rukia-sama is surviving merely on water and she has grown incredibly thin."

A sharp feeling ran across Ichigo's chest.

"Guess I have no choice but to force it down her throat," Renji growled as he made his way pass the old butler who bowed and walked the opposite way. But before they could even move a feet from where they were just standing, ten men in black suits surrounded them, catching them by surprise. "What's the meaning of this?" Renji glared.

"Excuse me, Abarai-sama," one man stepped out and eyed the three people as their stances became defensive. "But we must ask for your men to give us their ID's. We have never seen them before and we never got the message of new bodyguards being assigned to you."

"Why should my family affair be known to even you guys?" Renji asked.

"Because whoever enters this place must be given a thorough background check in case Kuchiki-sama is threatened."

"Psch," Renji scoffed. "I've been coming to this place since I was a little kid. Don't you guys trust me?"

"You, yes," he answered before pointing at the other two, "Them, no." As if suddenly been giving a signal, the ten started to charge forward.

"Fuck this!" Tatsuki threw off her hat and quickly took her stance to throw a kick at the closet man coming at her.

"I knew this wouldn't work!" Ichigo shouted as he threw off his wig and joined in on the fight.

"It's him!" one of the bodyguards shouted, "Kurosaki Ichigo! Do not let him get near Rukia-sama!"

Ichigo grunted as he felt someone grab his arm before he could attack, and he couldn't block a punch that landed on his face.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki shouted as she ran over and kicked his captor off of him.

"Behind you!" Renji shouted this time as he grabbed the arm reaching towards Tatsuki, and swung the man to the other corner of the room. "This way!" he shouted at the two as they quickly ran down a random path, fighting off anyone in their way.

Renji quickly turned into a corner and opened a door that led them to another sitting room with a bar. He quickly ran towards it and jumped over the counter while Tatsuki and Ichigo slid behind it from the side.

They pressed their bodies up against the table and tried to calm their rapid breathings as they kept hidden from the shouts and running outside the room.

"Man, there's too many of them," Ichigo wiped off his brow, "How are we suppose to get anywhere with them chasing after us at every corner."

"Good job dumbass," Tatsuki smacked the back of Renji's head, "You said there wouldn't be a problem but look at the situation now. We're pretty much being hunted down."

"Yeah, who would have thought they would get suspicious of even me," Renji groaned as he rubbed his sore head.

Ichigo sighed as he leaned his head against the cool wooden table. "What do we do now?"

"Ask the smart ass here," Tatsuki pointed a finger at the red head who looked angry enough to bite it off.

"Listen to me and listen well!" Renji whispered, "Kuchiki-sama has built this place to be a fucking maze. Unless you've been here for five years, you won't know your way around."

"How is that even possible?!" Tatsuki gapped at him.

Renji shrugged. "I dunno. But this is what you do: split up. Then, go up to the third flood through any of the stairs and just run to the darkest part of the mansion which would be the center of the very back. Just keep running and we will end up at the same place since they all connect somehow." He paused to see the two nodded their heads in understanding. "Keep running until the middle of the hall where there will be a large portrait of Hisana-sama, who looks just like Rukia. In front of her picture are two more hallways, one skewing to the left, and the other the other way. Whatever you do, take the r—"

"There they are!"

"Fuck!" Tatsuki cursed as the three quickly jumped out of their hiding place and running off to different directions.

"Remember!" Renji shouted just before heading for a closed door.

Ichigo cursed as he quickly ran the opposite way and down a random hall. Old men and women alike screeched and cursed when he pushed passed them, going anywhere and almost everywhere to look for a flight of stairs.

Left.

Right.

Corner.

Door.

"There he is!" they would always shout when the got near him.

"Fuck," Ichigo cursed as he swung a right hook at one man and kicked another off to the side to make room enough to squeeze through. "Maybe dad really did teach me something," he mumbled to himself when he saw what he was looking for.

Stairs.

"There!"

Dammit!

Ichigo jumped up just in time to avoid a man who tried to dive at him. "Get him!" someone yelled and Ichigo looked up to see another three men running down the stairs.

"This is taking too long!" Ichigo growled as he ducked to avoid a punch and quickly rebounded with a fist to the guts. The man quickly fell and Ichigo swung to catch the second man. But just as he made contact, he screamed out loud when he felt a wooden staff being broken into two pieces after it collided against his back.

"Take him now!" Someone screamed as two more men appeared to remaking the three-to-one ratio. Ichigo held onto the wall as the three charged toward him.

With a painful grunt, Ichigo quickly dashed forward and kicked the guy with the bat and ripped the weapon out of his grasp just in time to use it to swing against the other two opponents.

"ARGH!" Ichigo grunted as he swung and heard a satisfying sound of the two men getting knocked down. He reached over and held onto his rib, still injured from the last encounter with Byakuya's men. "I'll kill him," he groaned as he tossed the bat aside and started to ascend the stairs.

Noises were coming from every inch of the mansion—which now seemed like a palace—as Ichigo tried to find the dark path Renji talked about…

But the entire fucking place was dark!

The orange head stopped in his steps as he breathlessly peered left and right, trying to find any hall that might seem darker than the other.

_This? No…that…but that one…_ "…FUCK IT!" Ichigo yelled as he chose a random hall and started to run down it.

"_I heard a noise up here!_"

Ichigo growled when he heard voices getting nearer. But he kept running. Despite his legs and his injured body screaming at him to stop and recover, Ichigo kept running.

_Shut up,_ he mentally yelled at his own body, _I need to get to Rukia!_

Finally, after what felt like hours of fighting and getting beaten up, Ichigo skidded to a halt when he came across a giant picture of a woman who looked like Rukia, except older and more mature. He stood in front of the portrait, staring up at the woman who Rukia saw as her most important person.

"Kuchiki Hisana," he huffed out as he stared at her picture, "Please let me get back Rukia." He bowed his head before turning around to face the two halls that Renji told him about…

"_Whatever you do, take the—"_

Ichigo's eyes widened when he remembered Renji never got to finish his words. He looked back and forth between the two, completely in loss at when he had to do.

Left?

Right?

Ichigo bit his lips as he tried to whack up his brain to remember if Renji had even said a single syllable of a certain direction but nothing was coming to mind!

"There he is!

Ichigo looked to the side where he heard voices and footsteps nearing him. "Fuck it!" he shouted and ran into one of the halls. He ran and ran as he passed by door after door, window after window, and eerie feeling after eerie feeling.

Finally, at the end of the hall Ichigo came to a halt when large French doors stared at him. He knew it had to be here since these doors were more elegant than any other doors he had seen in this place…or in anywhere else for that matter.

Ichigo took in a deep breath as he grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned it.

The door opened and he gasped when he looked inside.

---

Rukia was lying on her bed, still silently facing the window.

Several days have passed and she still hadn't recovered from what happened to Ichigo and between her and Renji. Everything was going downwards when she should have been celebrating about the near of the school year.

At the sudden realization, Rukia buried her face into her pillow and released a long sigh. She was so sick and tired of crying out her eyes that she was looking for different methods to voice her pain.

_CRASH!_

_CLANK!_

_BANG!_

"_GET THEM!"_

"_THIS WAY!"_

"_AHHH!"_

Rukia's head jerked up when she heard the ruckus coming from beyond her door. She remained quiet as she strained her ears to listen. And she gasped when the noise just became louder and even crazier.

"What the—"

The door suddenly swung open and Rukia sat up straight in her bed when she saw someone entering her room.

"RUKIA!"

The said woman could only gasp when the unexpected person ran straight at her for a giant, bone crushing hug. "T-Tatsuki?!"

The young woman nodded as she pulled back to do a quick check on her friend. "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you? Did you eat anything? You're a fucking twig! I'm going to buy you your favorite meals when we get home! Are you cold? Do you need anything—"

"Tatsuki!" Rukia stopped her frantic friend, "I-I'm fine. Just…surprised you're here."

Tatsuki nodded as she leaned forward to gently hug her friend this time. "I know. I'm so sorry for what's been happening."

"But how did you get here?… Wait a second," Rukia's eyes widened when she noticed the guilty look on her friend's face. "You know?!"

Tatsuki gave her a weak chuckle. "Well, I wouldn't be here causing such a ruckus if I didn't, right?"

Rukia groaned as she fell back on her bed. "Who told you?"

"Who else but the orange sherbet himself," she scoffed as she looked down at her thin friend, "He's here to get you back."

At those words Rukia jumped up and gapped at her friend with her big eyes. "I-Ichigo…he's here?"

Tatsuki nodded as she hugged her friend again. "Yeah, we're here to take you back home." At her comforting words and gesture, Rukia hugged her friend with a vice-like grip as her eyes started to well up with another round of tears. Tatsuki smiled as she felt the dampness on her shirt.

At that moment, the bedroom to Rukia's door started to squeak open again. Rukia quickly pulled away from her friend and looked up expectantly. "Ichi—"

But instead of seeing the orange hair that she's been longing for for so long, a blazing hair of red entered her room.

"Renji?"

The said man looked up and offered a small smile. "Hey," he replied before being followed by a long silence.

When she noticed that neither of them were going to say anything, Tatsuki nudged her petite friend and said, "Renji was the one who helped us get here. You should thank him."

At her words, Rukia got off her bed and quickly ran towards her childhood friend. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest as she started to cry in relief.

Renji hugged her back. "I'm sorry for having been such a jerk."

Rukia shook her head against his jacket as she held on tighter. "Thank you," she whispered.

Seeing enough of the friendly reunion, Tatsuki got up and walked over to place a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Com'on. Get your stuff and let's get out of here. This place is giving me a bad vibe with all these dark halls and crazy men chasing after us."

Renji laughed. "Had enough adventure to hell for one day?" he asked as he pulled away.

His friend scoffed. "More like enough for an entire lifetime. Seriously, how did you even put up with this place? I would have killed myself."

Rukia offered a small smile. "It wasn't always like this."

"Well, we should get going before anyone catches us." Renji quickly went over to Rukia's closet and started to pack her things for her.

"Renji, you should know better than going through a girl's closet," Tatsuki smirked as she went to join him.

Rukia watched on with a smile as her two bickering friends pulled out a bag and started to stuff things into it. It was only then she realized something was completely wrong. "Guys," she called out, earning her the attention of her friends, "Where's Ichigo?"

---

Ichigo's eyes narrowed into slits as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "I guess this will have to do for now."

Byakuya merely stared at him from his seat from behind his large desk. "And to what do I owe this _displeasure_?"

A low growl came from Ichigo as he stepped forward. "My fucking broken ribs."

"Oh?" Byakuya raised a brow and slightly smirked. "I don't think that would be the only reason you would be here."

"You bet your popsicle ass it isn't!" Ichigo quickly walked over and slammed his fist down on the desk in front of Byakuya. "You took Rukia away from me, _forcefully_, and I just came back to take back what's rightfully mine!"

"What's 'yours'?" Byakuya stood up and glared at the man standing on the opposite side of his red cedar desk. "Since when did my sister become an object that can be easily owned by someone?"

"Since when did Rukia become a fucking doll for you to use her as you please?" Ichigo barked back.

The two men remained in a quiet standstill as the room was literally being lighted by the sparks coming from the glares they were sending at each other.

Byakuya was the first to speak up. "First, you take advantage of my sister who is your student. Second, you break into my home and beat up several of my best bodyguards. And third, you barge in here and expect me get down on my knees and beg for mercy while you take my sister away. I don't think these qualify as a showing of your respect for me or my sister."

Ichigo remained quiet as his fists clenched tighter. He kept chanting in his head not to punch the stone cold prick in front of him or else he would have another reason to call the police.

"If you want to see another day, I suggest you leave immediately or else I won't hesitate to kill you myself."

"Go ahead," Ichigo immediately said after Byakuya finished his sentence, "I'm already dead without Rukia by my side. So I won't leave this hell without taking her back with me."

Another round of silence. Byakuya stared at Ichigo with his emotionless expression, but something in his eyes made it look like he was somewhat amused.

But not amused enough.

He pressed a button and merely said, "Guards," before more than ten men rushed into the room and apprehended the enraged orange head standing in the middle of the office.

"Let go of me!" Ichigo shouted as he tried to struggle.

"It's useless to struggle," Byakuya said, "I will not let a _kozo_ like you to continue in interfering with our lives. If my threats won't work on you, then I will have the police take care of you."

"Why can't I be with Rukia?!" Ichigo shouted, "Because I'm her teacher?!"

Sitting back down, Byakuya coolly looked at him as if he was an annoying fly that just wouldn't leave his face. "Yes, but that's not all. You are her teacher AND you are inferior."

Ichigo felt all his muscles tensing as he struggled even more. "FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID NAME! Rukia told me about your fucked up nobles that are trying to brainwash her into a robot like you! But I won't let that happen! I won't let you change the woman I love for some sick game of yours!"

"'Game'?" Byakuya scoffed, "This was never a 'game.' Rukia is to inherit everything from me—my money, my position and my company—so it is only right that I work to make sure she grows into the proper person to do the job. If I don't then everything will come apart."

"But that's what you want! What about what Rukia wants?!"

"Rukia was raised to want exactly the same thing. Do not think she can easily be changed because of your sudden involvement in her life," Byakuya told him as he placed his elbows on the desk and lifted his interlinked hands to rest before his mouth. "Rukia will follow the path she has been raised to follow."

"Bullshit!"

"Take him away," Byakuya waved a hand to dismiss his men.

"Hai!" They all responded as they started to drag him out.

But Ichigo held his ground as he freed one arm to swing a punch to the unexpected man. "Get out of my way!" he shouted as he jumped up to land a kick against the other man that was holding his other arm. The moment he freed himself, the remaining people started to come at him and he was forced to fight each and every one of them.

Byakuya remained still as he watched the battle before him with almost no interest. He was not affected by the deadening sound of Ichigo's fists colliding against the jaws of his men. He didn't flinch when a body got thrown across the room and collided into his desk. He didn't even blink when more men entered the room and pinned Ichigo down on the ground with guns pointed at him.

"Fuck," Ichigo cursed as he tried to move but the three men on top of him held him down.

Byakuya finally stood back up and walked to the other side of the desk. "Resist and I will order my men to shoot. Do not think I will be merciful the next time."

Ichigo could only move his eyes upwards, since even his head was being pushed down, and glared at the man who was standing only a few feet away from him. "Don't think I'll—"

"Enough," Byakuya stopped him, "You cannot win against me so I suggest you stay quiet and leave my presence—"

"Niisama!"

Every man in the room jumped in surprise when they looked over at the door to see the unexpected Rukia running towards them. The moment his eyes landed on her, Ichigo felt the fast beating of his heart that he was so used to feeling whenever he was with her.

"Rukia," he called out and the woman immediately looked over to him.

When their eyes met, Rukia's eyes welled up again. "Ichigo," she whispered and tried to run to him but Renji and Tatsuki held her back. Suddenly, another group of men surrounded the three newcomers, two guns pointed at Renji and Tatsuki.

"What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya asked.

Rukia looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Niisama, please let him go! I beg of you!"

"Ladies should not beg, Rukia," he sternly told him.

But Rukia ignored his statement and got down on her knees. "I'll do whatever you want me to do as long as you let him go!"

"What?!" Ichigo shouted, "There's no way I'm leaving this place without you Rukia! I'm not going to abandon you in this hellhole just so I can live peacefully!"

"But Ichigo—"

"I love you and I'm going to protect you so stop saying shit that makes you look even more stupid!" he shouted.

"You dumbass!" Rukia shouted back at him, "What do you think you can do in this situation?!"

"Rukia—"

"I will get you out of here and protect you from my family so just shut up and let me handle this!"

"No, you fucking midget! Just wait and I'll—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Byakuya shouted, ending the argument between his sister and the _kozo_ on the ground, "I have heard enough of this! Take Rukia out of here!" he ordered.

"No!" Ichigo shouted as he struggled even more.

Renji and Tatsuki were about to stop the men approaching their friend but got stopped when guns were pointed straight at their face. "Oi! Get out of our way!" Tatsuki shouted but her arms were suddenly grabbed from behind and someone pinned her against the door.

"Tat—" Renji couldn't even call out his friend's name when he was given the same treatment. "FUCK!" he cursed out loud.

Rukia tried to crawl away but two men grabbed her arms and started to pull her up on her feet. "No! Let go of me!"

"Stop it! Don't touch her!" Ichigo shouted. He looked over and yelled at the man who remained emotionless through the entire ordeal. "You fucking bastard! Tell them to let her go! How dare you let them manhandle your own sister?!"

Byakuya looked down at him with the same 'I-will-kill-you-insect' look before looking back up to all the commotion his sister was making. "Stop."

His single word stilled every person in the room and an eerie silence settled on them. Nobody dared to move, not even to blink, as they stiffly waited for the man to say something else.

"Release her," he ordered. The two men immediately released their hold on Rukia and stepped back.

Rukia fell back down on her knees when she was 'dropped' by them. Her chest was heaving up and down as she stared at her brother in her rumbled up state. "Niisama," she huffed, "Please."

Byakuya stared down at her pitiful state before looking over at the man on the ground who was glaring up at him. After another few seconds of heavy silence, he looked back at his sister and ordered, "Leave now."

Rukia sat up straight. "Niisama, please lis—"

"I told you to leave Rukia," Byakuya said sternly, "I will not tolerate this rebelliousness of yours any longer."

"But—"

"Rukia," he called out her name again, but this time in a more soothing manner, "I promise I won't hurt him so will you listen to me just this once."

Rukia closed her hanging mouth and just stared at her brother, unsure whether to trust him or not.

Ichigo was also staring at Byakuya, trying to read what he was thinking but his face was still emotionless. But this serious tone was all it took to make him curious. "Rukia, listen to what he said."

Rukia gasped as she looked over at him. "Are you insane? What if—"

"Rukia," Ichigo smiled, "Nothing is going to happen. Right?" he glared at Byakuya. The man merely nodded his head in reply. "See? Abarai. Tatsuki." The two looked up at him. "Can you guys please take Rukia out of here? Make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble."

The two were immediately released by the captors, after getting a signal from Byakuya, and carefully walked over to the woman still on the ground. Rukia was still reluctant to leave and forced her weight down.

"Rukia," Tatsuki whispered to her, "Com'on."

"Trust him," Renji added as he finally pulled her up on her feet.

"Ichigo…" Rukia sighed as she allowed her friends to drag her out of the room.

Once the three exited the room Byakuya gave the signal to the men who were still pinning Ichigo on the ground. They slowly got up and Ichigo waited until they were all a good foot away from him before lifting himself off the ground. He grunted a bit when his muscles ached from being crushed to the ground for so long.

With another wave of his hand, the men in black bowed their heads before making their way out of the room through another door.

Finally alone, Ichigo stood up and glared at the man in front of him. "What do you want?"

"What were you planning on doing with my sister?" Byakuya asked.

A brow went up as Ichigo was slightly taken aback by his question. "Why?"

"Do not question me, _kozo_. My patience with you is already drying thin."

Ichigo felt a twitch under his left eye at the word '_kozo,'_ but decided to ignore it this time since there was more important business to attend at the moment. "I love Rukia. And I'm planning a future with her as soon as we can."

"Present tense?" Byakuya sounded amused by Ichigo's confidence, "What makes you think you can still have this 'future' of yours if my sister is not with you? And what if my sister doesn't agree with you?"

The twitch was really starting to come full on. "I know Rukia loves me and I also know she will stay by my side. We're already one in soul—you could say—and I'm not going to leave her. I promised her this over and over again, and if my mother taught me anything, it's to never back out of a promise with someone you love."

Byakuya stared into the amber eyes that were blazing with resolve. A sigh escaped his lips. "So much confidence…like myself."

The twitch got worse. Did that guy, with a stick up his ass, just say they were similar? "You have got to be kidding me—"

"How can I trust you to keep my sister safe?"

Ichigo growled when he was ignored again. "You fucking—wait, what?" his eyes widened after realizing what his questions might be insinuating.

"Did you suddenly go deaf?" Byakuya asked.

"No," Ichigo glared, "I was just checking to make sure I heard you right. AND—" he quickly added before Byakuya could step in to criticize him more, "I'm holding onto my position as a teacher. I make enough money to support both of us as it is, so that's not a problem."

"And what about Rukia's future?" Byakuya asked as he looked down to check his watch. It was getting really late and he had an important conference the next day.

"If she wants to go to a university and get a job, I'm more than willing to let her," Ichigo told him, "She's been telling me how much she wants to pursue a career in writing, which I'm more than happy to support. We have already decided that she'd stay with me, while still pursuing our dreams, but this time together." Ichigo tried to ignore how gushy that all sounded.

Byakuya crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against his desk. He silently eyed the man in front of him as if trying to determine the best way to kill him. "I want my sister to come back here every other weekend and you are to come too. I will see for myself if this union is valid," he said before walking back to his seat at the other side of the table.

Ichigo stood frozen for a few moments, not sure what just happened. "Wait…did you just—"

"Unless you have any objections now, I suggest you leave before I change my mind."

"None whatsoever!" Ichigo shouted as he quickly ran to the door. Just as he was about to open the object that was separating him from his love, he paused as questions began popping his head. He reluctantly turned around and saw Byakuya returning to the paperwork he was doing just before Ichigo came in. "I just have one question. Why are you suddenly letting us go?"

Byakuya never looked up from his work as he answered. "Rukia has never begged for anything in her life. Nor have I ever seen her cry like that since Hisana passed away. If she is willing to go to such length for a _kozo_ like you, then I have no choice but to let her go."

Ichigo was still as he carefully listened. _Maybe he's not that bad…if only he didn't call me _kozo.

"If I keep Rukia here, she will be miserable for the rest of her life. And I know Hisana will never look at me again if I did," Byakuya concluded. "Now leave."

Ichigo nodded and finally opened the door. A smile graced his lips when he saw Rukia standing a few feet away, still being comforted by her friends. "Thanks," was all he said before exiting the room and running to embrace the woman he was willing to die for.

The moment Rukia was in his arms, she knew everything was going to be alright. Her tears came down again as she held onto as if he was her lifeline. And she was never going to let go.

* * *

A/N: See what I mean by not being my best? This was originally going to be two chapters but I couldn't write anymore so I just squished them together to make one long chapter. I was building up tension one moment and suddenly dropping everything with a happy ending the next. I wanted to put in longer fights between Ichigo and Byakuya...but I got stuck in a slump. This was the only thing I can think of in order to head the direction I wanted.

Byakuya seemed off to me in this chapter: being an enemy one moment to an understanding brother the next. I hated how I portrayed him here and things were kinda random...but I really didn't know what else to do.I tried to justify his sudden change in opinion in the chapter but I'm not sure how it came out. If anyone remembers, in the previous chapter I stated that there was NO paper on Rukia's transfer from the Karakura HS, so that means Byakuya had other plans. I made it so he was kinda expecting Ichigo to make a move to persuade him before pulling Rukia out from the school. Does anyone see the connection? He's not a total insensitive jerk of a brother. Rukia's been crying and starving himself so he noticed the obvious distraught. He wanted to see how serious Ichigo was before completely separating them!!!!!! o.o Mind-blowing, yes? I could've added this bit above but that would have been too much blow on his pride (admitting he was wrong) so I just added it here.

Please don't forget to review. I know this wasn't the best but please be easy with me! I promise to do better the last two chapters!!....(yeah, I'm planning on ending this long fanfic in two more chapters. It's mind blowing knowing I'm almost over and the next chapter almost done to be uploaded soon..)

Preview for next chapter:

Their own reunion... so pretty much one more lemon before the last chapter.

P.S THANK FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!!


	25. 25 Our Reunion

**Author's Note: THANK YOU guys for reviewing! I can't believe I actually passed 800 reviews...I only thought I'd get half of that when I first started this fanfic. And thanks to everyone who has been sticking with this story from beginning to end. I have one more chapter after this one, and at the end I will include one last "THANK YOU REVIEWERS" list. I really enjoyed writing this story (although I was bothered by how rushed I was for some chapters...) and I hope to write more ICHIRUKI stories like this one so keep an eye out for them.  
**

**Like I promised, this chapter starts off with one more lemon. If you don't want to read it, just skip down until you see the page breaker-thingy. In the second half, I included stuff that might seem random but are in fact important issues to address before ending this story. Just read and enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

* * *

Chapter 25: Our Reunion

**

* * *

WARNING: **Lemon here. If you want to avoid it, just scroll down until you see the end of the warning

* * *

A moan escaped their lips as Ichigo pushed Rukia up against the wall. Her legs around his waist tightened as he deepened their kiss. She quickly slipped her hands under his shirt and started to pull it over his head before going back to kissing him.

After what felt like years, the two were finally in each other's embrace, lips, tongues, hands, and hips moving against each other in a dance that only they knew.

As soon as Ichigo got the 'okay,' he grabbed Rukia and kissed the living daylight out of her. Thankfully Tatsuki and Renji walked away to leave the two lovebirds alone to celebrate their reunion. After gathering all of her stuff, they quickly caught the next train and came home immediately, while Renji went back to his new home with Tatsuki, who was too tired to go on another train ride in a single night.

But Ichigo and Rukia were desperate to get back home.

Home.

Rukia gasped as Ichigo pulled off her shirt and dropped it on the floor of their apartment. The sun was already up and shining, the rain finally gone, but the two didn't' care.

They didn't care that they didn't get an hour of sleep since the day before.

They didn't care that most people were now getting up and getting ready for work or school.

They didn't care that their phones were ringing off the hook, which they knew were most likely their friends and family, wondering where they were.

Ichigo and Rukia quickly attacked each other the moment they stepped into their apartment and made their way to their bedroom. They were ripping each other's clothes off but maintaining much of their body in contact, afraid that if they're apart for too long they might be ripped apart again.

Rukia moaned when she felt her bare back fall onto the mattress of their bed. Her insides were screaming with joy as she felt more and more at home, feeling the familiar furniture of their apartment. She laid completely on the bed as Ichigo crawled over her. His kisses increased in speed as he left her mouth to her jaw, neck and finally chest.

"Ichigo," Rukia moaned, "Don't stop."

"I wasn't planning to," Ichigo answered as he took a nipple into his mouth and started to suck.

Rukia arched her back to present more of herself to her lover as she reached down to gently run her finger over his hard cock still clothed by his boxers. The orange head groaned, sending vibrations into her chest, as his hips started to thrust upwards.

Their lower regions, which were still unfairly clothed, were grinding against each other as Ichigo ran his tongue against the other breast. Rukia sighed in pleasure as she ran a hand through the orange hair that she loved so much.

Rukia slid a hand down and shoved her fingers under the elastic waistband of his boxer and reached for his hard member. Ichigo groaned at the feeling of her cool hand surround the head of his cock, and allowed her to run her hand up and down as he moved his lips back up her neck.

"Ichigo," Rukia huffed out, "Hur…mhmm—hurry up!"

"Che, party popper," Ichigo snorted as he pushed himself up on his knees, pulling her hand out of his boxers. This time he grabbed her panties and quickly discarded it before rubbing her wet folds. "Rukia," he groaned in approval as he felt how wet she was. He rubbed her clitoris harder, getting a nice moan from the woman under him, as he inserted a finger in her. "So slick," he panted as he started the tortuous movement of slowly slipping in and out of her.

"Ah!" Rukia gasped as her body spasm every time he pulled out with the curve of his finger scraping against her walls. She was starting to pant really hard as she reached up to bite Ichigo's shoulder.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he felt Rukia's teeth and tongue playing with the junction between his neck and shoulder. As compensation, he added another finger and increased the pace of his wrist. He allowed Rukia to attack his neck while he kept his eyes down at where his fingers were bringing her close to the edge. Her walls were starting to tighten around his fingers and he knew what would end her agony.

The moment the third finger entered, Rukia's entire body jumped and she screamed as her orgasm came in as huge tidal waves. She clamped her legs tightly closed, preventing Ichigo from moving away, so he just continued pumping in and out of her as she continued to ride out the breathtaking ride only he could send her off on.

As Rukia finally came down from her high, Ichigo was able to pull his fingers out of her. He immediately brought it up to his face and started to lick off the juices that were drenched over them.

Rukia's chest heaved up and down, her lower region pulsating from the intensity of her orgasm. The sound of licking brought her attention up to the man who was noisy licking his fingers while staring down at her. The moment their eyes met, Rukia's heart quickened and she immediately felt wet again.

When Ichigo noticed she was clamping her legs together again to alleviate some tension in her lower region, he smirked before sitting up straight to pull his boxers off. "Hold on, I'm coming," he joked as his hard cock sprang free from its confines.

Rukia stared at Ichigo and his 'mini-me' for several seconds as he struggled to get his boxers off and on the floor. She was getting so wet that she was close to just jumping on him and taking over. But before her thoughts could be put into action, Ichigo spread her legs wide apart and settled himself between them. Rukia groaned when she felt the tip of his cock tap against her wet opening.

But instead of slipping himself in her like she wanted him to, the damn bastard just chuckled before grabbing both her ankles and lifted them up over his shoulders.

"Ichigo!" Rukia gasped at the sudden move.

When her legs were securely hooked behind his head, Ichigo peered over her flushed body like a hungry wolf. Just looking at her in such an exposed position was making his heart beat at a crazy pace. His warm breath fanned over her wet folds was enough to almost send Rukia off into another orgasm as her body trembled with anticipation. When her legs tightened around his neck, he knew it was time to dig in.

Ichigo buried his face against her womanhood and licked straight up in between her wet folds, before circling the throbbing clit.

The sensation caused Rukia's body to spasm uncontrollably once more. And the moment his tongue encircled her clit, she was immediately sent to another round of pleasure that was close to knocking her out. She reached up and pulled on his hair for support as she felt her legs weakening. Ichigo nosily licked and sucked on every drop of juice that was spluttering out of her. But even as she calmed down, Ichigo didn't let go. He continued to ravish her to the point Rukia couldn't feel her toes and her legs unhooked themselves.

"I-Ichi—" Rukia panted, "—go, mhmm—please—ah! More!"

After lapping over her opening one last time, Ichigo released his hold on her waist and allowed her numb body to slide down onto his lap and fully on the bed. He panted as he wiped his mouth and watched his lover panting for breath. But he knew she was more than ready for the final course.

Ichigo quickly positioned himself between her legs. When Rukia felt his throbbing cock against the inside of her tights, she knew what was coming. Just the thought of it was sending shivers down her body. She stayed ready, anticipating his next move as Ichigo slowly entered her and gasped as her throbbing walls enclosed around him tightly.

They were finally home.

Rukia almost screamed when she felt his stiff member inching into her in a deadly slow pace. She knew he wanted to prolong it, but she needed him _now._ "Ichigo!" she gasped as she started to move her hips, riding out his cock while he remained still.

For some reason Ichigo couldn't move as he watched with interest and pleasure as Rukia tried to take things into her own hand, even in her position on the bed. The moment he felt his tip collide with _the _spot, Rukia screamed in passion and Ichigo finally took back control of the reins. He grabbed her hips and stilled her body as he started to thrust in and out of her like there was no tomorrow.

"Ah!" Rukia gasped again as she started to feel her insides getting violated in a way that made her crave for more. "I—Ichigo!" she moaned as her fingers dug deep into his back.

Ichigo just groaned in the back of his throat as he laid his head against her neck, nipping at it as his hips moved with ungodly speed. "Rukia," he panted, "Ru—" He was away from her for so long that he knew he wouldn't last too long inside her. His balls were already tingling the way they do when they were close to a release…but he still wanted to wait until Rukia got hers.

Which thankfully wasn't too far away. Rukia pulled Ichigo even closer to him as her body started to get numb with pleasure. Her toes were crawling in and her back arched upwards to press her chest even more against his. Her mouth gapped open and her tongue fell out as she tried to breath but Ichigo quickly covered his mouth of hers and started to play with her tongue. Finally seeing the bright light, Rukia screamed into his mouth as her entire body ricocheted in complete pleasure.

Ichigo groaned out loud as he felt her walls tightening around his member in the familiar manner. But he was shocked when she came harder than she had ever cummed before. And that was what sent him off. He could no longer contain himself as he thrust deeper, faster and harder before erupting. His seeds spewed out of him and into her warm body as he dug himself as deep in her as he possible could.

After every last drop entered her, Ichigo finally slumped forward and landed on top of Rukia, who welcomed him with open arms. The two tightly held each other as their bodies tried to gain back the oxygen they've been lacking for almost an hour.

When some strength seemed to have returned, Ichigo tried to move. He grunted as he lifted himself off of Rukia who slid her arms off of him. He leaned on one elbow as he reluctantly pulled himself _out_ of her. With his juice-covered cock out, Ichigo rolled over to one side of the bed before collecting Rukia into his arm.

"That was amazing," he panted into her sweaty hair.

Rukia smiled as she snuggled closer. "We were pretty desperate for each other, huh?"

"Yeah," Ichigo kissed the top of her hair as he pulled the blanket over their bare bodies, "I never want to be separated from you again."

"Me too."

Ichigo pulled back to smile down at the face that was smiling back at him. "I love you."

Rukia's smile widened as she leaned up to kiss his lips. "I love you too, Ichigo." When she pulled back, she couldn't stifle her laughter as he leaned down with her to continued kissing her all over. Her beautiful laughter filled the air as Ichigo placed sweet kisses all over her face and down to her neck. Rukia held onto him tightly until her eyes caught something that originally wasn't in their room before. Her laughter immediately died and her eyes widened. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?" he sighed as he placed wet kisses along her neck and shoulder, getting himself ready for the next round.

"What's that?" Rukia asked with her voice, and body, no longer affected by Ichigo's ministrations, which was starting to bug him.

"What's 'what'?" he groaned as he pulled back.

"That," Rukia pointed past his shoulders.

Ichigo slowly followed her fingered and gasped when he made out the image. "THAT FUCKING OLD MAN!"

Hanging on the opposite wall, staring down at them, was a huge poster of Kurosaki Masaki, with the words 'Don't forget to give us grandchildren!' written on the bottom.

---

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End of WARNING: **continue reading below

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---

Rukia couldn't stop her laughter as she quickly exited the shower. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body as Ichigo quickly followed her outside to grab the extra towel for himself. "I can't believe she did that!"

"Yeah, and it was the most annoying thing ever," Ichigo groaned as he wiped his hair, "I mean seriously, where the hell did she even get that wig?!"

"I think I might know. Last year we were at the mall and Rangiku bought it with Tatsuki to use it for Ikkaku. We placed it on his head when he fell asleep and that picture was literally posted all over the school. He was so mad at us after that!" Rukia laughed as she hugged the man in front of her.

Ichigo smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her lips. "Mhmm, how about another round?"

"Already? We just had one in the shower…actually, more like two," Rukia said with a grin.

Ichigo smirked as he kissed down to her neck. "I don't believe there's a law on how many times we can and cannot have sex. Besides, we were separated for too long and I'm just making up for lost time."

Rukia laughed as Ichigo picked her up over his shoulder and exited the bathroom. "Don't think you can get anything if you carry me like this!"

"Please, I can get you to do anything without breaking a sweat," Ichigo smirked as he tossed her body onto the bed. He leaned over her body and whispered next to her ear, "Besides, I doubt you can resist me when I do _this,"_ and he immediately claimed her mouth and shoved his tongue deep inside.

Rukia moaned as her arms came up and wrapped around her lover's neck. She wanted to play a little more but decided to push it off for another day. After all, she was just as much sexually frustrated as Ichigo.

As he started to kiss down her chin and neck, Ichigo's fingers started to play around the edge of her towel and was about to take it off—

_DING DONG!_

"Arugh," he groaned when the doorbell suddenly rung. "Let's just ignore it."

Rukia slapped his arm and tried to sit up. "It might be Tatsuki or Renji, here to check up on us."

"Or your brother who changed his mind," he growled as he tried to keep her down, but Rukia just smacked him away.

"Coming!" she shouted as she quickly ripped off her towel and quickly pulled on some clothes. She grabbed Ichigo's sweat pants and his t-shirt, and tossed it at the man who was still on the bed. "Quickly put it on or else," she threatened before leaving the room. She quickly came up to the door and swung it open. But before she could see who it was, a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her up against two very soft…breasts?

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime squealed as she hugged her student tightly against her.

"I-Inoue-sensei?!"

"Inoue, I think you're killing her."

Rukia looked up and was surprised when Uryuu and Chad appeared in front of her. "I-Ishida-sense?! Yatsuro-sensei?!" she choked.

"Yeah, is Kurosaki here?" Uryuu asked.

"Um, ano—" Rukia started stuttering as she looked between the three teachers, unsure of what to do or say. "W-why is Inoue-sensei here—"

"Its okay, Rukia, she already knows," Ichigo said as he came out of their room and came up to greet his friends. "Good to see you guys again."

Rukia quickly stepped back, when Orihime finally released her, to allow the two men to enter their apartment. She looked up at the older woman and frowned. "How do you know?"

Orihime smiled as she went to the living room with her friends. "I was actually outside when Ishida-kun and Sado-kun also found out. You didn't see me but I actually heard everything that happened."

Rukia sat down on the single seat and nodded. "I'm glad to know you didn't tell anyone though. Thank you."

Ichigo came up to sit on the arm rest of Rukia's seat, before looking at his friends. "Thanks a lot for helping us, you guys. We really owe you."

"Che, just make sure you don't screw this up," Uryuu smirked as he sat on the couch with Orihime and Chad.

Just as they were all settling down, the door bell suddenly rung again, but this time there was some banging happening on the other side. "_Rukia! Open up!"_

The said woman perked up when she recognized the voice. "Tatsuki?" she called out as she quickly open the door. As soon as it swung open, Tatsuki jumped into the apartment while strangling her friend in a tight hug. "Tatsuki, you're killing me," she choked out.

"I'm just glad you're here for me to choke to death," she laughed, "I'm glad you got home safe. I was worried all night something might have happened to you when you didn't call me."

At her words, Rukia blushed when her mind reminded her why she was so busy the night before to forget to call her friend. "Sorry about that," she said as she finally wiggled her way out of Tatsuki's embrace.

"And you!" she suddenly screeched before stomping in to the apartment to grab Ichigo's collar.

"What did I do now?" he asked, completely taken aback by her actions.

"This is for being a dumbass!" she shouted before sending a punch across his face, knocking him down on the ground. "I've been waiting to do this since finding out."

"Fucking bitch," Ichigo groaned as he rubbed his bruising cheek. "That was totally uncalled for."

"You deserved it though," Uryuu laughed out loud.

Finally noticing the other occupants in the apartment, Tatsuki looked up to see three other teachers in the room. Her face immediately paled. "W-w-what are you three doing here?!" she screeched while waving an accusing finger at them.

"Don't worry, we actually knew longer than you," Chad informed her.

"B-b-b-b-but—"

"Oi! Tatsuki! Don't just jump out of the car like—oh shit," Renji cursed when he stepped into the apartment to see what Tatsuki was seeing. "Um…I don't know anything!" he raised his hands up.

"What?! You're letting me take this by myself?!" Tatsuki gawked at him.

Renji nervously chuckled. "I'm not involved with this school anymore so I don't want any trouble from them," he backed off.

Tatsuki growled at him as she cracked her knuckles.

"Don't worry Abarai-kun," Orihime smiled, "We already know everything. And we won't get you guys in trouble! Or else we'd be in trouble too," she giggled.

"Oh…well, that's good to hear," Renji exhaled in relief as he stepped back into the apartment, ignoring Tatsuki's glare as he stepped to join the group. "So what's going on here?"

"I'd like to know myself," Ichigo glared at the occupants in the room. With a sigh he pushed himself off the ground and glared at everyone. "Why are you guys suddenly here?"

"Because we wanted to see how everything happened!" called out in a singing tone. Ichigo groaned when he recognized that voice. And Rukia—who was still by the open door—yelped in surprise when Urahara suddenly jumped out in front of her. "Ara! You got Kuchiki-san back!" he cheered.

Ichigo groaned as more people started arriving. "This cannot be happening."

"RUKIA-CHAN!"

Ichigo was being held back by Chad from hanging himself.

Isshin came behind Urahara to quickly pull Rukia into his chest. "Ah, my sweet daughter-in-law! I missed you so much! You must have been so scared over there. Don't worry, daddy is here now," he cooed as he twisted Rukia in his tight hug.

"K-Kuro-saki-san," Rukia stuttered, "I'm-eugh-get-ing—dizzy."

"Let go of her!" Ichigo shouted as he rushed over and tried to rip his father's grip on his girlfriend.

But Isshin just grabbed his son and locked him into the hug as well. "MY TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN! Life is so cruel to you but I'm happy to see you overcome all odds for your love! I will continue to support you from afar! MASAKI!"

Ichigo growled in annoyance as he kneed his father in the guts.

"Oof!" the older man grunted as his grip loosened and he started to slump down. "Very well…done…"

"You really should go easier on your father. He's getting old, you know," Yoruichi said, suddenly popping up in front of them.

Ichigo sighed in defeat. "I don't care anymore," he groaned as he returned to his seat in the living room as the three older adults—more like Urahara and Yoruichi dragging Isshin—followed after him. "Why are you guys all here too?"

"To check up on Rukia," everyone in the room all simultaneously replied.

Rukia, who was sitting by Ichigo again, frowned at them. "That was freaky," she mumbled, referring to their perfectly coordinated response.

"So, how are you?" Yoruichi asked.

Rukia immediately smiled. "I'm better now."

"And what are you two going to do now?" Urahara asked, suddenly getting serious. Everyone remained silent as they waited for an answer.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo frowned, "We're staying together and continue with our lives like before all this shit happened."

"Ah, but now that so many people know, it would only be a matter of time before someone else finds out," he continued, "You're still in a lot of risk."

"There's only two more months left," Rukia said, "We just have to be extra careful until then."

Uryuu snorted. "So you're planning on just coming out in the open after you get your diploma? People are still going to be suspicious and look down at you two."

"Stop trying to freak us out because it's not going to work," Ichigo said, "I know this is still complicated but I'm not going to end this relationship just because of that. I just got her back and I'm not letting her go." He placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder and squeezed it. And Rukia nodded to show her agreement.

"But it's still risky," Orihime added, "And people might get suspicious when you two suddenly come back to school at the same time."

"Rukia is going back to school first," Ichigo quickly replied, "I'll return by the end of next week."

"That's also a problem. Kuchiki has been absent for so long we're not sure how it might affect her grades," Uryuu said.

But Ichigo rolled his eyes, not really seeing the problem. "It's only two weeks worth of stuff so there's nothing to worry about. She already took all her college entrance exams so the only thing she needs to do is turn in all her homework and attend the rest of school with perfect attendance. That way she can keep her first place spot."

Rukia looked at him and nodded. "Tatsuki can catch me up before I return to school. I'm sure it won't be too hard."

"And Ochi-sensei was teaching everything from what I had planned," Ichigo added, "I'm sure it won't be a problem. Besides, I can't get fired for 'visiting' my sister who was in the 'hospital.'"

"What? Your sister is in the hospital?" Rukia gasped.

Ichigo smirked as he patted her head to calm her down. "No, not really. The old goat made up an excuse that my sister got a 'deadly virus' so had to be rushed to the hospital. I was able to get out of school because of this 'emergency.'"

"But what if they find out you lied?" Rukia asked.

"Don't worry about that," Uryuu stepped in, "_My_ father is the Chief of Medicine at both our Karakura hospital and the one in Tokyo. And apparently he owed Kurosaki-san something so he quickly wrote up the excuse in order to get out of his debt."

"Haha! I know what that is," Yoruichi snickered.

"I don't wanna know," Ichigo and Uryuu snarled at her.

"So will there be no trouble?" Chad asked, getting them back on track.

Uryuu shook his head. "Even though they can avoid suspicion when they return to school, there's still too much risk. I recommend Kuchiki-san to stay at someone else's place for the next two or three months. It would get rid of all suspicion."

"You're just paranoid," Yoruichi waved her hand in a manner of dismissing his comment. "Her address is still under mine. And as long as these two are more careful, I don't think there will be a problem. I'm willing to have Rukia 'live' with me until she starts college."

"But what if someone comes over?" Tatsuki asked.

"As long as some people keep their mouth shut—" Ichigo glared at Renji, "—I don't think that's a problem either. The rumor about me living with a student was already proven false so that shouldn't be a problem."

"You're using your sister as an excuse too much," Uryuu said.

"I should buy them a present," Rukia thought out loud.

"I don't care what you guys say," Ichigo continued, "We're staying together and continue school as if nothing happened. So don't _you_ guys do anything that might cause suspicion."

"That's more like it!" Isshin suddenly jumped up on his feet and cheered. "Now I still have a chance of getting my grandchildren soon!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted as he kicked his father.

"Don't worry my son! Daddy will help you if you have any trouble in bed—AUGH!" he screamed when Ichigo suddenly tackled him down to stop his sentence.

Urahara and Yoruichi started to laugh out loud at the familiar interaction between father and son.

Uryuu just groaned as he got up and walked to the kitchen. "I'm getting us something to drink."

"I'll help!" Orihime jumped up and followed her friend to the kitchen.

"Let's get some food," Yoruichi snickered, "I'm sure whoever loses—" she pointed to the wrestlers, "—will pay."

"I like that!" Urahara quickly pulled out his phone and started to dial the number of his favorite restaurant.

Tatsuki and Renji were already making bets on who would win while Chad was silently reaching for a magazine to read. Rukia smiled at the comfortable—but loud—interaction of everyone inside their apartment. She was looking around when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. Rukia looked up to see Renji looking down at her with a smile.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

Rukia smiled as she looked back at Ichigo still wrestling with his father. "Definitely."

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A/N: Okay, so I'm sure you guys can see I rushed through this chapter (yet again). I wanted to wrap everything up before uploading the last chapter (which is all done!) so I just squished a whole bunch of things together here.

I needed to write about Ichigo and Rukia finally addressing their relationship in front of all the people that are aware of it, that way they can create strong allies. And if anyone was bothered by the idea of these two just coming out with their relationship right after graduation, I included a little bit in the chapter addressing that issue. Also, I wanted to show a little bit at the end how normal and right everything turned out to be; a happy moment where Ichigo and Rukia was able to be an actual couple in front of people.

Well, thanks for reading! I can't believe the next chapter is really it...so sad but so relieving to know I actually ended this story.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! (and if you haven't reviewed since chapter 14, then I recommend you do it or else you won't be listed in my THANK YOU REVIEWERS that I'm doing one last time for next week).

Preview of LAST chapter:

Graduation


	26. 26 Graduation

**Author's Note: THIS IS IT GUYS!!!! THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!! KYAAA!!**

**I'm so happy yet so sad that this story is now done. It was a great ride, with so many reviews! THANKS again to everyone who reviewed. And if you go to the bottom you will find your names in alphabetical order.**

**It's finally graduation time...which means Ichigo and Rukia are now able to have a free and open relationship. Read and enjoy this last ride of Love Me, Sensei and again, THANK YOU for reading!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Bleach

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Chapter 26: Graduation

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"Arisawa Tatsuki."

Ichigo watched from below as his student got up and walked up on stage. A smile came across his face as each of his homeroom students came up to receive their diploma.

Luckily everyone in his class was graduating.

It was probably the first time in Karakura High School history.

"Asano Keigo," the principal called out.

Yes, even Keigo passed.

Ichigo clapped along with the rest of the school body and the guests. They were all inside the school gymnasium as the seniors waited for their names to be called to go up on stage.

"Ayasegawa Yumichika."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief when he noticed he was actually wearing his uniform without bedazzling it. In fact all of the students were wearing their school uniforms neatly with their shirts tucked in and their neckties/bows neatly done in front of them (A/N: in Japan, high school students don't wear robes for the graduation. They just wear their school uniform).

"Hinamori Momo."

Ichigo took a quick glance to the side and smirked when he saw the big smile plastered on Hitsugaya's face. And it got noticed by shy fiancée because she was brightly smiling back at him with a huge blush across her face.

"Madarame Ikkaku."

The baldy, who looked uncomfortable wearing the necktie for the first time, carefully walked up on stage and got his diploma. Ichigo could literally hear Kenpachi roaring in laughter from the stands as he watched another one of his students graduate for the first time in his kendo club history.

Every thing was going by really smoothly and it was a good thing. Besides, who would want to discipline a misbehaving student on the last day of school? Yes, this place seemed like the perfect school.

"Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Woohoo!"

"Sexy Mama!"

"Meeoow!"

A perfect school for perverts.

Ichigo groaned as the busty woman walked across the stage, flipping her long blonde hair back as she received her diploma. And just before walking off, she looked over to the crowd and threw a wink, causing a massive amount of blood to spew out of the majority of the male population there. He should have suspected that would happen.

"Mizuiro Kojima."

This time there were cat calls from half the female population in the stands.

"KYA! He's so cute!"

"Make me your girlfriend too!"

The young man merely smiled as he grabbed his diploma from his awkward principal before looking out into the crowd and waving. Nearly all the girls fainted.

But Ichigo still couldn't see what was so great about that kid.

"And finally, our valedictorian: Kuchiki Rukia."

A sense of pride swept over Ichigo as he clapped harder upon seeing Rukia slowly walking up on stage with elegance. She was smiling brightly as she walked over to the principal. She bowed as she received her diploma, and grinned even more as the gymnasium filled with a loud cheer. She looked over to the crowd on her way down and caught Ichigo's eyes. A sweet smile was sent his way and Ichigo felt amazing love fill his body at that moment.

The principal returned to the podium and made his last speech. And then… "Congratulations, seniors! You're now all DISMISSED!"

An even greater noise erupted as everyone cheered, especially the students, as they quickly gathered their stuff to leave the gym.

Rukia was quickly pulled by her friends and was outside before she knew it.

"It's finally over!" Matsumoto squealed.

"Let's take a class picture!" Hinamori called out as she dragged Hitsugaya with her, who was holding a digital camera.

"Good idea!" Rukia was suddenly surrounded by her classmates and everyone readied their pose.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as he turned on his camera. "Stay still!" he shouted as he got down on one knee to try and get a better angle. Just as he was about to take the picture, a sudden orange caught his eyes and he immediately pulled away. "Kurosaki! Come over here and get in this picture!"

Ichigo looked up and was shocked to see his homeroom students shouting at him to join them.

"Hurry up and get over here Kurosaki-sensei!"

"Our last day together!"

"Ichigo! Com'on!"

A smile came on as he walked over. "Alright already," he snickered as he came up to his students.

"Get in the middle," Tatsuki ordered as she pulled him into the center of the picture. And she suddenly pushed him to one side, landing him next to their class rep. "There that looks better," she grinned.

Rukia smiled at her friend before looking up at Ichigo. "Let's take a memorable picture together, _sensei_."

Ichigo smiled as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, our last picture as 'student and teacher.'" The two looked back front as Hitsugaya got his camera ready again.

"Okay!" he shouted, "Three! Two! One!"

"CHEESE!" Everyone shouted as they suddenly changed their pose into something more mischievous and just _them_. Most of the girls were holding up the 'V' sign while some of the guys were sticking out their tongues and pushing the tip of their noses upwards to imitate a pig's nose. Some even jumped and made a hilarious pose in the air, while a few others just remained still in their spots with bright smiles.

"Oi! That just ruined the entire picture!" Hitsugaya shouted, although he was smiling at their hilarious antics.

"Let's take more!" Matsumoto squealed and the short teacher immediately brought up his camera to take more pictures of the graduating class of 3-2. And in the center of all the pictures were Ichigo and Rukia, standing next to each other with huge smiles on their faces.

After another five minutes of taking picture after picture, Ichigo finally got pushed out of the group so the students could take pictures with other teachers. He smirked as he walked off to watch his class from afar.

"It's good to see them all smiling like that."

Ichigo looked over and nodded his greeting when he saw Orihime standing next to him. "Yeah, it really is."

The young woman giggled as several students started to climb up on Chad for another picture. "I can't believe they're already graduating. Kind of reminds me of when we graduated."

"We were as happy as them," he nodded.

"Nope," she shook her head, earning her a look from the man standing next to her, "You're much happier now than back then."

Ichigo stared at her for a second before his smile came back. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Treat her well, Kurosaki-kun, or else you'll have Ishida-kun, Sado-kun and me to talk to," she half-heartily threatened, "There's a lot more people siding with Kuchiki-san over you."

Ichigo laughed as he nodded. "I got it. And don't worry; I'm planning on doing something later to make sure she never leaves me again."

Orihime looked at him before smiling again once she got what he was insinuating. "I can't wait to hear the official news. Remember to call us immediately afterwards."

"Promise," he smiled back.

"Inoue-sensei! Come take a picture with us too!" Matsumoto screamed out and Orihime quickly left Ichigo's side to join the 3-2 group picture.

Ichigo just continued to watch as more pictures were taken. But this time, a twitch came on when he noticed who suddenly came to stand next to him. "What do you want?"

"Just want to know what you're planning to do from now on," Uryuu smirked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "School is finally over and you don't have to hide your relationship anymore. But letting it out too soon might bring some problems as well."

Ichigo nodded in understanding. "We're most likely going to keep away from the school for awhile and wait several more months before making it public. Rukia is planning on telling the rest of her friends after they start college."

"That reminds me, where is she going?" Uryuu asked as he pushed up his glasses.

"Karakura University. It's only a bus ride away so she doesn't have to move out or anything. We were actually thinking of going to Tokyo and stay at my father's place, but most of her friends are going there so she wanted to stay. It's good for me since I'm still going to be teaching here."

"Too bad. She could have done so much better at Tokyo. But this school isn't that bad."

"It'll help her in pursuing her dream," Ichigo nodded, "And I'm more than happy to support her."

Uryuu smirked when Keigo was suddenly being chased by Tatsuki when he tried to wrap his arms around Hinamori and Rukia. The two male teachers laughed at the scene in front of them. "I have to say that I'm going to miss these kids. When I first taught them last year, I remember wanting to strangle them. But now it's a bit sad to let them go."

Ichigo nodded. "Especially for me. These are my first students."

"Well, good luck when her friends find out. They're most likely going to come after you," he chuckled. "By the way, where's her brother?"

"In London," he answered, slightly annoyed at the mentioning of the man. "Rukia invited him but he couldn't make it. So instead we're going to go over there to visit him this weekend. It's some sort of present for her."

His friend tried to block out his laughter by grabbing his mouth. "I have a feeling you might not come back alive after this."

"Shut up," he glared.

"Whatever. Anyways, good luck with that guy, and don't forget you still owe us dinner." Uryuu slapped him on the back before walking away to enter the picture when the students started to call out for him.

Ichigo smiled as his friend disappeared. His eyes then caught Chad's hidden ones, but instead of coming over to talk to him, Chad was just himself as he gave his good friend a nod of his head. Ichigo nodded back, knowing full well what it implied.

_Good luck_.

And Ichigo was really going to need it.

---

Rukia breathlessly ran up the stairs and pulled out her copy of the key as she reached the door. With a twist and turn, she finally got it open and swung it open. "Ichigo?" she called out, poking her head out through the door.

"Right here," Ichigo answered from the side.

Rukia smiled when her eyes landed on him and passed through the door. It immediately closed and locked behind her as she slowly walked over. "Why did you suddenly call me up here?" she asked, looking over the school roof to see most of the students leaving the grounds to start their break.

Ichigo, who was also looking out, smiled when he caught sight of some of his friends. "I wanted to get away from everyone. And my family is most likely at our place to celebrate your graduation so I just wanted to come up here before all the chaos begins."

Rukia stepped closer to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's finally over."

"Nah," Ichigo shook his head, "It's only the beginning."

"That was cheesy," she laughed.

"Yeah, it really was," he snickered.

Rukia turned to face him with a bright smile. "So, did you buy me anything for my graduation present?"

"Am I not good enough?" he smirked, earning him a light kick.

"You're really pushing your luck."

Ichigo laughed along with her as he reached down to grab her left hand and started to play with her fingers. "You know, I really hated you back when I first met you."

"The feeling was mutual," she said.

Ichigo smirked as he laced their fingers together. "But somehow you squeezed your way into my heart and I couldn't get you out, not that I wanted to though."

Rukia smiled.

"I'm nothing without you," Ichigo whispered.

Suddenly the smile slipped away and Rukia looked at him skeptically. "What are you trying to pull here, Kurosaki? Is this about that new game station that just came out? Because I'm not falling—"

"Shut up midget! That's not what I'm talking about!" Ichigo snapped, pissed at her for suddenly ruining the moment he was conjuring up.

"Then why are you saying such weird things?!"

Ichigo gawked at her. "'Weird'? I was jut trying to be romantic!"

Rukia scoffed. "'Romantic'? More like fucked up."

"Rukia," Ichigo growled, "You're not making this any easier!"

"Then just say whatever you need to say and get it over with! Don't go around in circles!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

The two kept their glares fixed on each other, the once happy and peaceful moment now long gone. Finally pulling away, Ichigo sighed as he slid his free hand into his pocket. "Man, and I had this planned out so much better."

"What are you mumbling about now—"

But Rukia's words got cut off when Ichigo suddenly went down on one knee and slipped a diamond ring on her left ring finger. "Will you marry me?" he slightly groaned and slightly whispered, breathlessly, as a small blush crept up his face.

Rukia gasped when she saw how the perfect ring slid perfectly to fit around her finger. She could only stare between Ichigo and the ring for several seconds, her mind slowly processing what was happening. And the moment she finally figured it out, her big eyes started to get overwhelmed with tears. Before she knew it, a big grin appeared on her face.

Ichigo smiled when he noticed the change in her expression. "Well?"

"Yes," she nodded before jumping down to wrap her arms around his neck. "Yes!" she shouted this time.

Ichigo laughed as his arms came around her waist and hugged her tightly to him. He stood up and lifted Rukia into the air, who squealed at his sudden action.

Rukia pulled away to smile down at her fiancée's glowing face. "Yes," she repeated, "Yes, I'll marry you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"And I love you, Kuchiki Rukia," Ichigo responded.

Rukia quickly shook her head as she leaned to lightly brush her lips against his. "You mean, 'soon-to-be' _Kurosaki_ Rukia."

A big ass grin appeared on Ichigo's face as he set her down. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

Ichigo pulled her closer as Rukia tip toed so she could keep her arms around his neck as they leaned in for a kiss to show each other exactly how much they love each other.

They might have started off wrong, cursing each other to hell at every possible second, but now their love was impossible to penetrate through. Now, nobody would look at them as teacher and student but they will be known as husband and wife that not even death could part.

* * *

**The End

* * *

**

A/N: THIS IS THE END!!!

I can't believe I actually finished this baby! Let me tell 'ya, I was so close to stop writing this because of my hectic schedule but I stuck to it because of YOU GUYS! All the reviews and love I got was enough to really pull this story off. THANK YOU again!

This was probably the shortest chapter in this entire story. I thought it was longer but there really wasn't much I could include. And the proposal was the main thing I wanted to focus on. I debated over where it should take place when I remembered I never written about the school roof after that one chapter oh-so-long ago. So I thought I use it. It would be great if I could write a chapter on Byakuya finding out about the engagement when they go to visit him, but I'll leave that up to your imagination lol.

Also, it wasn't until a friend of mind reminded me that I haven't written any chapter with Ichigo's birthday or Rukia's birthday. Hmm…I wonder why I did that. But it's too late to do anything about that so I apologize. I wanted to add them but that's too much work and I really need a break before starting a new story.

Finally, here's the **THANK YOU REVIEWERS!** list I promised. Usually I write some side comments...but there were too many people so I decided not to do it this time. Sorry, but I'm still very grateful and I read every review!:

1blackcat**  
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**THANK YOU** for reading **Love Me, Sensei**, and I hope to see you guys again soon!


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